Former chef pleads guilty to arson
Former chef Curtis Kenyon was sentenced to time served after being found guilty of arson and discharging a firearm.
The drug-addled Kenyon served 194 days while waiting for sentencing. He faced the County Court on Monday, where the court heard he drove his Ford Falcon wagon to a Flinders property in November 2021, took out a jerry can of petrol, smashed up the property and doused a boat with the petrol.
He used flares found inside the boat to start the blaze.
Inside the house were the 91-year-old owner’s caretaker, the caretaker’s daughter and another person.
The caretaker said she felt “terrified for her and her daughter’s safety” and “feared for their lives”.
CFA units arrived before Kenyon could get away and blocked his exit, however, he managed to escape after forcing police to lay down “stop sticks”.
Kenyon caused more than $100,000 in damage.
Kenyon was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time and believed his activity was just a dream. He later claimed he was “watching himself” being “hunted … in a video game (by monsters)” and “recalled hearing God” while he committed the firey destruction.
Police caught up with him through DNA evidence at the site and after he fired a sawn-off shotgun into a car at Tootgarook several days later.
He was captured by heavily armed specialist police who seized a still loaded shotgun and second imitation firearm.
Kenyon, who was a sponsored skateboarder fell into drug use and became a party boy. Drugs derailed a promising culinary career.
Judge Kellie Blair said “Innocent people have suffered significantly as a result...
“This is a serious example of arson … to evade police you drove severely drug affected at speeds at over 100km/h …
“The latter incident involving your possession and use of the gun was also very serious … you fired the gun at a vehicle occupied by two people in a suburban street …
Judge Blair did note Kenyon’s rehabilitation efforts. He spent almost two years at a rehab facility program and now mentors recovering drug users.
He has three children, works as an arborist and must serve a two-year community correction order.
Jonathan Jackson, 10th April 2024
