A RURAL Fire Service (RFS) volunteer has pleaded guilty to sparking a blaze near Inverell last year.
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Jayden Scott Griffiths fronted Inverell Local Court on Thursday 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 second arrest by the strike force after a 16-year-old boy was charged in December for lighting a fire in the Pine Forest, off the Guyra Rd.
The strike force was set up by New England police in conjunction with the State Crime Command’s arson unit to investigate multiple deliberately lit grass and bush fires in the Tingha area between August and December, last year.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
