West Kelowna man caught on video setting fire re-arrested, charged with arson

Facebook / Kelowna Alert / Andrew Lee

• By Drea Humphrey

Find the Arsonist

$10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest of the criminals who are burning down Canadian churches.

Submit

• By Drea Humphrey

PETITION: Save Our Churches

Justin Trudeau, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki, and Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair must recognize the burning of churches as acts of hate and terrorism, work forcefully to end them, and provide safety for Christians and their places of worship.

19,091 signatures
Goal: 20,000 Signatures

Optional email code

First Name

Last Name

Email

Mobile Phone

Send me email updates

Send me text message updates

Address (Street, City, State, Postal Code)

Country AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, the Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicCôte d'IvoireDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorth Macedonia, Republic ofNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaRéunionSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweÅland Islands

Secure

A West Kelowna, B.C. man accused of intentionally starting a fire has been arrested a second time and is now facing a single charge of arson, according to police.

West Kelowna RCMP officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Weber Road on July 10, around 8:30 p.m. Neighbours who called the police said they had extinguished a hillside fire in the area.

Video posted to the “Kelowna Alert” Facebook page on July 11 shows a shirtless man carrying what looks like a flaming torch, bending down and intentionally setting fire to the bushes in the Glenrosa neighborhood area.

The original post on the Facebook page stated "My neighbour saw him in the bushes behind his house and thought it was weird so he started recording him. Would have been much worse if it wasn’t for the quick response of all the neighbours with fire extinguishers."

On July 12, police said that witnesses had told them that they observed a man lighting a fire in the neighbourhood, and were also able to identify his truck. After a quick investigation, police findings were sent to the B.C Prosecution Service and a charge of arson was approved.

Suspect Stephen Leader, 36, was first taken into custody with no charges and later released. This morning a warrant was issued and he is currently in custody. He will appear in court on July 29.

Kelowna West MLA Ben Stewart has written a letter to B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth calling for suspects arrested on serious allegations of arson to be held in custody until the charge assessment is complete.

“It’s bad enough when they (wildfires) are caused by thunderstorms and lightning, but it is even more upsetting when it’s caused by negligence or stupidity…and it’s completely outrageous when it appears people are deliberately trying to start fires.”

Stewart said there needs to be a balance between the right to be presumed innocent before proven guilty and public safety, “but I also believe the public has right to be protected from serious criminal conduct… especially where the evidence is so compelling, and the potential consequence to law-abiding citizens is so severe.” he said. 

“I was astonished that person was then released back into the community,” Stewart's letter to Farnworth read.

B.C. is currently under a state of emergency because of the wildfires in the province. Although early in the season, over 300,000 hectares have already been burnt this year, with an annual average of 100,000 hectares.