Jonny Flor charged with torching Cossa Street house in West Tamworth

Jonny Flor did not appear in Tamworth Local Court when his case was mentioned but is accused of torching a house, and then concealing key information.

The 19-year-old from Bingara is charged with intentionally or recklessly damaging a property by fire between 1.20am and 2.06am on May 5, 2022, in Cossa Street, West Tamworth, which was the property of a superannuation fund.

He's then accused of concealing a serious indictable offence of another person, namely that between the same time and on the same date, he failed without a reasonable excuse to bring information to the police about the malicious damage by fire of the same Cossa Street property.

READ ALSO:

Police allege Flor "had information which might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension/prosecution/conviction".

If convicted, Flor faces a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.

He was charged by Oxley detectives after his arrest on January 31.

The case returned to court in Tamworth where police prosecutor Sergeant Rob Baillie said the case was still not ready to move.

"The brief is not compliant," he told the court.

"It's missing a statement from NSW Fire and Rescue."

He asked for the matter to be adjourned to later this month to marry up with the co-accused, so the cases could be mentioned together.

Defence solicitor Alex Floyd agreed to the adjournment but told the court it was the second time it had been delayed.

"It is the second time police have been ordered to serve a compliant brief," he said.

"It is the second time it hasn't happened."

Magistrate Julie Soars agreed to adjourn the case briefly, but warned prosecutors to get a move on.

"You'll need a convincing explanation on the next time," she told prosecutors.

The case was adjourned, and Flor remains on conditional bail.

Co-accused Molly Lee is on bail and is due to appear in court on the same date.

She has not been required to enter a plea to one charge of damaging property by fire or explosive, worth more than $15,000.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: