A RURAL Fire Service volunteer has pleaded guilty to sparking a blaze near Inverell last year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jayden Scott Griffiths fronted Inverell Local Court on Thursday, April 13, for the first time since he was arrested and charged by police from Strike Force Illingworth in March. Griffiths, 19, pleaded guilty in court to one count of intentionally causing a fire and being reckless to its spread.
The charge relates to a bushfire on September 28.
Acting Magistrate Mal MacPherson ordered a pre-sentence report to examine Griffiths’ background before he is sentenced in June. He remains on conditional bail ahead of sentencing.
It’s the strike force’s second arrest after a boy, 16, was charged in December for lighting a fire in the Pine Forest, off the Guyra Rd. The strike force was established by New England police with the State Crime Command’s arson unit to investigate multiple deliberately lit fires in the Tingha area between August and December, 2016.