Young Co Tyrone man accused of arson endangering life arising out of Dungannon house fire remanded in custody
A 21-year-old Co Tyrone man was remanded into custody when he appeared at Strabane Magistrates Court on Thursday in connection with Monday night's house fire in Dungannon.
Miguel Caetanito from Canal Place, Coalisland, faces charges of arson endangering life on February 3.
Caetanito, who appeared in court by video link from Dungannon custody suite, is accused of destroying a property at Cunninghams Lane, Dungannon, thereby endangering the lives of four residents and eight police officers.
A detective sergeant said he could connect the accused to the charges.
When a defence solicitor challenged the connection, the officer gave an outline of the facts in which he said police were notified by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service of a report of a fire at 40 Cunninghams Lane, Dungannon, at approximately 8.30pm on February 3, and of children being trapped.
He said with ladders obtained from neighbouring properties police rescued four persons within – two children aged seven and ten years and 37-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman.
The officer said while in the ambulance the 10-year-old told police the fire had been started by the “crazy man” in a red jumper on the roof.
She alleged the accused had been downstairs with her uncle and she was upstairs with her sister at the time. When she opened a window because it was warm, the door came in and smoke filled the bedroom.
The officer said Caetanito later gave no comment interviews to police.
A defence solicitor claimed there was insufficient evidence to connect the defendant to the charges. "There is no evidence that a crime has been committed,” he said.
The solicitor argued the child was upstairs and did not see how the fire started, it could have been accidental.
In reply, the officer said they believed the fire was started maliciously.
District Judge Oonagh Mullan remarked that the defendant had two previous charges for arson while a youth. She said she was satisfied with the connection and remanded Caetanito into custody.
He will appear again by video link at Dungannon Magistrates Court on Wednesday, February 26.