Man faces 6 arson charges

Press, 8 July 1983, Page 5

Man faces 6 arson charges

PA Auckland Detectives used video equipment to catch a man accused of arson at the Farmers’ Trading Company department store in Auckland, the District Court in Auckland heard yesterday. Richard lan Makeef, aged 23, an electrician, of Mangere East, appeared before Messrs L. F. Warren and J. Jaffe, Justices of the Peace. He faces six charges of wilfully setting fire to the building on November 16, February 14 and 15, March 17 and 28, and April 6. He also faces six charges of starting 11 separate fires in the building on the same .dates. Detective Sergeant M. K. Cummins said the total cost of damage was $54,386. He said Makeef was employed as an electrician for C. H. Hayhow and Company, Ltd, a firm doing contract

work at the Farmers’. Detective Sergeant D. A. Horsburgh, of the Auckland C. 1.8., said that on April 4 he set up a video camera on the top floor of the building. The only access to the top floor was by a wooden staircase from the lighting department on the fifth floor. A monitoring base, with a video recorder, was set up next to the department. Early in the afternoon of April 6, he saw Makeef walk up the stairs to join another workman. The next minute, he saw Makeef walk back down the staircase. Detective Horsburgh said that 63 seconds later he noticed a flickering of light coming from the stairwell. The flickering grew more intense and it became obvious that there was a fire near the bottom of the stairs. A few minutes later the workman on the top floor escaped through the flames.