Arsonist jailed for seven years
A homeless man who torched his employer’s furniture store in revenge after a dispute over money has been jailed for seven years.
Neil Trott, 41, stole an antique roulette table from Mitra Johnston before setting her Court Street store ablaze to cover his tracks.
Mrs. Johnston lost $300,000 worth of goods in the fire and did not have insurance cover. She was left suffering from stress-related illness.
Sentencing Trott yesterday, Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons said:: ”Mrs. Johnston was an easy target for you. The evidence in this case is that you terrorised her by threats you would burn the business down, and you knew sufficiently how to accomplish it by being an employee of that business. That makes these offences particularly wicked.”
Trott was convicted of burglary and arson by a jury on June 22. His trial heard he’d worked for Mrs. Johnston’s second-hand furniture company, Auction De Mitra, for several years running errands.
However, they argued over money on June 30, 2009.
According to Trott, Mrs. Johnston owed him $25, but only paid him $10. They got into an row on Front Street which was cut short when a Police officer, Sergeant Alexander Rollin, intervened.
Mrs. Johnston testified that during the argument, Trott threatened to burn down the store
Around 10.30 p.m., Mrs. Johnston returned to the store and checked all the windows and doors were locked. Less than an hour later, Trott was caught on a hidden surveillance camera stealing the antique roulette table.
Both Mrs. Johnston and Sergeant Terrance Smith, who later arrested Trott, identified him as the man on tape.
At 2.30 a.m. the following day, Bermuda Fire and Rescue was informed that the store, a former Salvation Army Church, was on fire.
Prosecutor Nicole Smith said the evidence showed Trott committed the crime out of vengeance. As well as valuable merchandise, Mrs. Johnston lost her business records too.
”Society needs to be protected from persons like the defendant who deal with personal grievances in the manner which he chose,” said Ms Smith.
The building in which Mrs. Johnston rented her store and office space was rendered unsafe by the blaze and remains empty. Ms Smith also pointed out that, according to pre-sentence reports, Trott has shown no remorse.
Defence lawyer Peter Farge said that’s because he maintains his innocence, and has already filed an appeal against his conviction.
Trott, who is Bermudian and has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, was homeless at the time of the offence.
He admits to a history of alcohol abuse and has two previous convictions for indecent assaults on males dating from 1995.
Meting out five years for the arson and two years to run consecutively for the burglary, Mrs. Justice Simmons said Trott should undergo psychological evaluation, be tested for drugs and alcohol and enrol in an anger management programme before his release
Mrs. Johnston, 52, who is originally from Persia, attended the hearing.
She said afterwards: ”It’s sad to see another black man getting locked up but it’s his own fault. He did it to himself.”
She lamented the fact that Trott’s father sent him to England for a good education, only for his life to take such a bad course.<*t(0,0,” “)>She said of the fire: “It was awful, because I’ve lost a lot of stuff and I didn’t have insurance. I called insurance companies and they gave me a quote but they never called back. Over $300,000 of stuff was in there
Mrs. Johnston has since relaunched her business at another location in Pembroke.
Trott declined to address the judge during the sentencing. Asked for comment as he was escorted to a prison van, he replied: “I’ll wait for my appeal, I’ll talk to you then.”
