6:30pm Tuesday 14th October 2008
By Harry Miller
A man who firebombed a house after a road rage incident was sentenced to 30 months in prison today.
Croydon Crown Court heard how Owen Myrie, 40, of Normanton Road, South Croydon, had a road accident with another man on June 13 earlier this year.
Both cars stopped and the two men entered into an argument.
Myrie pulled a baseball bat from his car and the other driver, named in court as Mr John, allegedly pulled a Stanley knife. A fight broke out between the two men and police caught them both driving away from the scene.
The officers deemed that the argument did not warrant any other attention and made the two men swap insurance and address details.
Myrie later attended Mr John’s address where he poured petrol on the plastic front door and set it alight, trapping Mr John, his wife and their two daughters inside the blaze.
Neighbours saw the fire and rushed to their aid. They kicked the door down and managed to rescue the sleeping family from the fire.
On sentencing Myrie, Judge Ruth Downing said: “I have taken into account your exemplary character when considering your sentence. I accept you are a man with a life to look forward to once you have served your sentence and I do not believe you will come out and re-offend.”
Judge Downing added that she thought Myrie posed no risk to the public. After serving a minimum of 12 months Myrie will be release on license.
After the verdict Myrie’s girlfriend, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “This is just so out of character for Owen. He is normally a calm and placid man who would never dream of doing anything like this.”
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