A homeless man was found guilty yesterday of stealing an antique roulette table from his employer before setting the store ablaze to cover his tracks.

Neil Trott, 41, was charged with stealing the table on June 30 last year, and between June 30 and July 31 last year starting a fire that caused extensive damage to the Booth Hall, Court Street store.

The incident happened following an argument between Trott and Mitra Johnston, who owns Auction De Mitra. Trott had worked in the antique shop for two to three years, performing various errands for Mrs. Johnston. On June 30, Mrs. Johnston said she told Trott she didn't have any work for him but despite being turned away, he hung around the store drinking beer.

He eventually joined Norris Simpson, another employee, on a trip to Somerset.

When they returned, Mrs. Johnston, Mr. Simpson and Trott went to Supermart on Front Street, Hamilton, to get money.

Trott said she paid him $35 instead of the agreed upon $50, and the two began to argue.

The heated argument was cut short when Sergeant Alexander Rollin approached the group and calmed matters down.

Mrs. Johnston testified that during the fight, Trott threatened to burn down the store, a threat heard by both Sgt. Rollin and Mr. Simpson.

At around 10.30 pm, Mrs. Johnston said she returned to the store and checked all the windows and doors were locked, but little less than an hour later an intruder was seen on hidden camera stealing an antique roulette table.

Both Mrs. Johnston and Sergeant Terrance Smith, Trott's arresting officer, identified the man on the tape as Trott.

At 2.30 am, Bermuda Fire and Rescue was informed that the store, a former Salvation Army Church, was on fire.

Lieutenant Josonne Smith with the Fire Service said at the trial that the fire originated from Mrs. Johnston's office, where most of the surveillance equipment was kept.

In her closing statement, Crown counsel Nicole Smith said that Trott had set fire to the store in an attempt to destroy the evidence of the theft.

She said: "He had felt cheated by Mitra, cheated out of money he felt he deserved. Was it a coincidence that a few hours after threatening to burn down the shop, the shop was burned? And that he was on DVR stealing the roulette table a few hours earlier?

"In this case, if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it is a duck."

Defence attorney Peter Farge, representing Trott, argued that there was no proof that the man on the tape was his client, or that the fire was caused by arson.

"The expert in this case said the fire was suspicious. That does not mean deliberate. It really doesn't mean anything."

He also dismissed the idea that Trott threatening to burn down the store, saying none of the witnesses mentioned it until late into the investigation.

He said by the time the argument between Trott and Mrs. Johnston had ended, Trott had calmed down.

"He was upset, yes, but he was used to Mrs. Johnston not paying him," he said. "He decided he was done with her, and lined up a job for the next day, and that's where he was arrested."

Trott testified that after the argument, he bought a six-pack of beer and walked to Corkscrew Hill where he drank and fell asleep for several hours.

When he woke, he said he walked around town for a while before sleeping on a grassy area near the Transport Control Department. Mr. Farge said: "They don't have any fingerprints, they don't have any evidence, all they have is suspicion."

The jury of six men and six women found Trott guilty of both counts, with a majority of ten to two on the charge of burglary and nine to three on the charge of arson. Puisne Judge Charles Etta Simmons ordered Trott to be held in remand until August 2, when he will return for sentencing.