Sentencing for arsonist adjourned until May 4
By Delon Shurtz on April 3, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDDshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com
A Lethbridge man who lit fires in three locations all in the same evening will have to wait at least until next month before he is sentenced.
Danny Berdan pleaded guilty Wednesday in Lethbridge provincial court to three counts of arson and one count of failing to comply with probation, but his matter was adjourned to May 4 to allow time for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
A pre-sentence report provides the court with an accused person’s background, personal details and circumstances to help determine a fit sentence.
Berdan set three small fires on March 25. At about 7:30 p.m. a woman saw Berdan setting fire to a box in the alley behind her house.
She called police, and in the meantime another witness extinguished the small fire.
While police searched for the suspect, they received another call 20 minutes later that Berdan was starting another fire eight blocks away.
Police arrived and found that a small pile of twiggs had been placed against a fence and lit on fire.
A witness said she was driving home with her son and they stopped to ask Berdan what he was doing. He responded with some nonsensical comments and walked away.
Police found Berdan shortly afterward three blocks away, lighting a third fire to some cardboard boxes. As he walked away officers saw him put something in his pocket.
He was arrested, placed in handcuffs, and searched, during which officers found a lighter and mini torch.
Berdan was on probation at the time of the offences, relating to a 90-day sentence last May on four counts of arson. Conditions of his probation required him to report to a probation officer, not possess any incendiary devices, and be assessed for counselling and treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues. He failed to comply with those orders.
Crown Prosecutor Clayton Giles told court he is opposed to Berdan’s release from custody, especially given the recent “windswept and fire-prone” conditions in southern Alberta.
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So 7 counts of arson in the past year? Someone should light him on fire 🔥 failing probation.. someone’s going lose their house and/or family member!!
sadly, arsonists – excepting those paid by fat tony to gut a building for insurance – are often victims of sexual abuse. however, the way justice seems to operate these days, we can expect release for time served, and likely even being sent on his way with a tin of butane and a lighter.