Time-served for firebug caught lighting small blaze in Kamloops

A 23-year-old man was caught lighting a fire in Kamloops around a month after he was released for the same crime.

William Aaron Lamb appeared in Kamloops court today, April 15, where he was facing charges for lighting a small fire against the wall of a North Shore business.

A police officer patrolling the area spotted Lamb tending to a small fire on 12 Street, where smouldering kindling charred a pallet leaning against the wall of Tranquille Market, court heard.

The fire merely discoloured the pallet and did not damage the building's concrete wall.

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He had been released around a month earlier after spending nearly six months in jail for mischief charges following a series of fires in downtown dumpsters last summer.

His lawyer Sheldon Tate told the court Lamb left the Kamloops prison "without a dollar in his pocket and with no place to live."

"This wasn't an inherently dangerous location," Tate said. "This was a pathetic attempt to start a fire on a very cold day in a very sodden area."

Lamb's release in November included a condition that he not carry any lighters. Upon his arrest, police found he was carrying five.

"It’s true, I just wanted to stay warm," Lamb said to the court.

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Lamb said he carried the lighters because he smoked, but he no longer does after spending time in prison.

Tate said Lamb has shelter arranged upon his release and he's "in line" for longer term housing, as his client tries to leave homelessness and his drug addictions behind.

He pleaded guilty to breaching his probation, while the mischief charge for the fire was dropped.

Provincial court judge Raymond Phillips sentenced Lamb to time-served, which added up to 180 days in custody.

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