Arsonist out on bail after setting fire to BC church

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A Vernon, British Columbia man who was arrested on Monday after allegedly setting fires outside a Catholic Church is out on bail.

Dillon Alexander Leon, 32, is facing one count each of mischief over $5,000 and possession of incendiary material. Leon was arrested on Monday evening and granted bail after a hearing Tuesday afternoon.

If there was ever a sign that every MP in this house gets too much tax-payer dollars it’s this unified willful ignorance.

Not a single body was discovered in an unmarked grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School

Watch this documentary https://t.co/0apxcZS0di https://t.co/XPmhlWZ5om

— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) June 22, 2023

Leon is barred from owning any lighters or matches as part of his bail release conditions, reports Castanet.

Crown prosecutor Alex Wheele said police were called at about 8 p.m. on Monday.

“A couple of eyewitnesses near the St. James Catholic Church in Vernon saw an individual lighting a series of small fires on the property of that church — a couple of the fires near the church, a couple not near the church,” he said. “The individual was using what looked to those onlookers to be a small torch — I guess a somewhat larger flame.”

Wheele stated that a witness informed police they observed the arsonist place an object into one of the fires, which was then followed by a minor explosion.

By the time the Mounties arrived, the suspect had already fled the scene, but according to Wheele, the witnesses provided valuable assistance.

“The onlookers were still there, and sort of followed the person and told the RCMP where to go,” he said. “A couple streets away, after Mr. Leon was located matching the suspect description, they pointed out to police that yes, that was him.”

Kamloops provincial court Judge Michelle Stanford granted Leon bail but only on the condition that he is prohibited from owning any tools that he could start a fire with.

“That’s matches or small lighters,” she said. “You are in a 24-hour staffed residence, you can ask staff to light a cigarette for you.”

He will make his next appearance in Vernon provincial court on Thursday.

According to an incident map from True North, at least 96 churches have now been burned, vandalized or destroyed in Canada since the spring of 2021.

96 Canadian churches burnt and/or vandalized since the false claim that 215 Indigenous children’s remains were discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Christophobia thrives in Canada. https://t.co/RdzNJJUUw4

— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) January 2, 2024

The attacks started after the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation’s May 27, 2021 press release, which claimed they had discovered "the remains of 215 children who were students" buried at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

That claim has since been debunked, and verbiage around it has been updated to refer to "anomalies" rather than child remains.