AN ARMIDALE man who torched a house and threatened a man with a replica gun while suffering from “homicidal tendencies” will spend at least 10 months in prison.
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Damien Linnane appeared in Armidale Local Court yesterday, where he was sentenced for two counts of maliciously damaging property, being armed with intent to commit an offence and maliciously damaging property by fire.
Linnane pleaded guilty to all charges in July but his sentencing was delayed after Magistrate Karen Stafford ordered him to be assessed for an intensive corrections order (ICO), to serve a sentence in the community.
Yesterday, the court heard he was deemed “unsuitable” by authorities for an ICO and consequently, home detention.
Defence solicitor Rodney Kennedy said his client had been undergoing “exhaustive psychological assessments” but was at a disadvantage living in Armidale.
“Jail is probably not going to solve any issues that he may or may not have,” Mr Kennedy said.
“It is up to the court to decide what is the appropriate punishment for this young man.”
Mr Kennedy said, while medical reports had found Linnane had “problems with contrition”, he had worked on changing his “thought patterns”.
“He understands and fully comprehends the serious nature of these offences,” Mr Kennedy said. “In my opinion he has expressed some form of contrition.”
In a series of targeted incidents, Linnane torched a home on Ash Tree Dr on November 29, last year.
The fire, which destroyed the $310,000 home, was previously thought to be accidental, until police received a tip-off in June, culminating in his arrest in July.
Linnane also admitted to threatening a man with a replica firearm at a Marsh St hotel on March 27 and slashed car tyres on two separate occasions in February and March.
Ms Stafford said the sentencing hearing was one of the most complex she had sat on during her three years in Armidale.
“I can say you are a unique person,” she said.
She acknowledged that Linnane’s high-functioning autism and actions meant he needed to undergo significant supervision and treatment in the community, however, Ms Stafford said neither an ICO nor a suspended sentence would be in line with “the principles of sentencing”.
“Your motivation seems to have been to take some vigilante action,” she said.
“There was a great degree of planning in what you did.”
Linnane was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 10 months.
Ms Stafford reduced the non-parole period from 18 months, finding special circumstances in Linnane’s need for community supervision.
Linnane will be eligible for parole in September, 2016.
