CCTV botched neighbour’s attempt to ‘exact revenge’ by setting scooter on fire

The male formerly pleaded guilty to a charge of arson, an ACT Supreme Court choice released on Wednesday, October 28 specified.

CCTV video footage and a fellow homeowner’s observations resulted in him being learnt.

Alexander Peter Brown, 36, was sentenced to 9 months and 22 days’ prison, however was launched right away after the sentence was backdated to represent time currently served in custody.

Brown’s act of “revenge” triggered an approximated $300,000 in damage to an apartment building and required citizens from their homes.

The released choice comprehensive how Brown intentionally set fire to the scooter in the basement parking lot of the general public real estate complex in Lyneham on the night of December 5, 2025.

Emergency situation services got a triple-zero call about 9.03 pm reporting an active fire and a disruption outside the structure.

CCTV video took from Brown’s system caught him placing on a hooded jumper and a face mask before getting a lighter and a bottle of hand sanitiser.

He left his location at 8.53 pm and returned 2 minutes later on without the sanitiser.

When left locals collected outside, a guy faced Brown, having actually seen him speaking to cops previously that day.

Alexander Brown was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court. Photo by Karleen Minney

“Was it you? It was you, wasn’t it?” the guy asked.

Brown responded: “Yes, I’m sorry. I went downstairs and lit a scooter on fire.”

The male punched Brown in the face, which triggered him to be up to the ground where he “laid motionless on his back for some time,” the released choice specified.

Cops reached 9.06 pm to discover thick smoke putting from the parking lot and jailed Brown quickly after.

Officers kept in mind that Brown and the scooter’s owner had actually been associated with a run-in previously that day where both males made attack claims versus each other, though no charges were laid.

Performing Justice James Stewart discovered that Brown planned to “exact revenge” on the owner of the scooter, thinking the male had actually attacked him.

Citizens required to leave homes

Evaluations by ACT Fire & & Rescue and Housing ACT considered the whole 15-unit complex hazardous for tenancy after water, electrical and sewerage pipelines in the basement melted and burst.

All occupants were left into emergency situation lodging, the released choice specified.

While some have actually because been completely rehoused, others stay in short-term real estate.

“It is noted that the weekly cost for ACT Housing to rehome and provide temporary accommodation is around $4,500,” the judge stated.

Since March 2026, the structure stayed uninhabited waiting for repair work anticipated to take 12 to 18 months, with removal expenses approximated at $300,000 leaving out structural engineering works.

‘Useless monolith’ to criminality

Performing Justice Stewart highlighted the enduring damage triggered by the fire when sentencing Brown.

“This crime has had a deep and long-lasting effect on the victims,” he stated.

“The tendered photos really do explain the tragedy of modern and bespoke public housing being reduced to a useless monument to the offender’s criminality.”

Brown formerly informed the court that setting the fire was “the biggest and worst mistake of my life”

Performing Justice Stewart kept in mind Brown suffered a fractured cheekbone from the punch outside the complex, which needed surgical treatment.

The judge factored the injury into the sentence as “extra-curial punishment”which suggests penalty caused outside the court system.

He accepted that Brown was “genuinely contrite and has spent a significant amount of time in custody contemplating what he inflicted with his careless and drug-affected behaviour.”

“It is impossible for the court to determine whether the real driver of the offender’s predicament at the time of his offending was illicit drug use or mental ill-health, or, whether it was a combination of both,” the judge stated.

He discovered Brown’s psychological health and individual background lowered his ethical responsibility to a degree, he ruled that no penalty other than full-time prison was proper.