Balgownie bushfire accused faces second day of hearing

Jakeb Eaton, 21, appeared at Wollongong Local Court on Friday for the second day of a hearing.

He has pleaded not guilty to causing a fire, an offence police argue he committed because he allegedly maintained the blaze on November 13, 2019.

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However, Eaton said he was trying to put the fire out.

The fire occurred in bushland near Doonan Place, near an unrelated rescue operation to free a paraglider who had crashed into a tree.

Eaton's defence lawyer Patrick Schmidt called his client's mother, Pauline Eaton, to give evidence in Friday's hearing.

Ms Eaton was shown photos she had taken of her son's legs when he was in a police holding cell following his arrest, which she said she had taken because Eaton told her he had been tackled to the ground by police and he'd been trying to put out the fire.

She also gave evidence that her son had looked up penalties that would apply to someone who lit a bushfire on his phone, because the topic came up as they talked while she packed their bags in case they needed to evacuate their home during the period of heightened fire risk.

Sergeant Coby Davis asked Ms Eaton whether he son had shown interest in the fires, and she replied only insofar as they could have to evacuate, explaining she had made him "very aware" of that.

The court also heard evidence from Senior Constable Lee Kelly, one of the officers who responded to the fire.

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When asked by Mr Schmidt if he had found a lighter, accelerant or anything of that nature at the scene, he said no.

In her closing argument, Sergeant Davis said the prosecution could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that Eaton lit the fire, but his actions, seen by witnesses, were consistent with maintaining it rather than putting it out.

She said one officer stated that it looked as though Eaton was throwing something on the fire, while another said the accused was poking it with a stick.

Sergeant Davis said that while these statements were not consistent in terms of the size of the object, they were consistent in showing Eaton's attention was on the fire.

If these officers were of the view he was putting the fire out, Sergeant Davis said, they would not have been so hasty in tackling him to the ground and arresting him.

She also submitted that Eaton had messaged a friend about the fire, rather than calling emergency services, and it was strange for him to tell police that he could have had a lighter and thrown it into the bush, but did not.

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Mr Schmidt said the police case was circumstantial and there was only one thread to it, that Eaton was present at the scene.

He pointed out the inconsistencies in the statements of the police officers, and said a more thorough search for a lighter or accelerant should have taken place.

Mr Schmidt said that his client told a witness, "I hate people who light fires", and described this witness as "unnervingly calm" when he reported the fire to emergency services.

The witness also said he had seen Eaton try to stamp the fire out, Mr Schmidt said, and his client did not call triple-0 because he saw the witness do it.

He said police had not excluded the possibility of a third person lighting the fire and the magistrate could come to "numerous other conclusions", but they had not been explored.

Mr Schmidt said the evidence could not support the charge against Eaton.

The matter will return to court in August.

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