McLeod Hill man admits to torching his home
Ryanne Joseph Pineda, 35, of Fredericton, has been remanded pending sentencing after entering guilty pleas to two criminal offences Monday
A Fredericton man will be sentenced later this summer after admitting to setting fire to his McLeod Hill home in March and being reckless to the fact that someone was still inside.
Ryanne Joseph Pineda, 35, of Sunset Boulevard, appeared in Fredericton provincial court by telephone Monday from the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre.
He was charged with arson in late March after a fire at his Sunset Boulevard home. He was held in custody for a couple of weeks but released after a bail hearing. However, he was arrested and remanded again after violating the conditions of his release.
Pineda elected Monday to be tried in provincial court and pleaded guilty to torching his home the night of March 29 and thereby being reckless as to whether the residence was occupied at that time.
He also pleaded guilty to breaching the house-arrest conditions of his release order April 17.
Defence lawyer Emily Cochrane asked the court to order a pre-sentence report, and prosecutor Gwynne Hearn sought the preparation of a victim-impact statement from Michael Sweeney.
Judge Natalie LeBlanc ordered both documents be prepared for the court’s consideration, and she remanded Pineda again until his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Aug. 21.
In the months since his arrest, Pineda has undergone psychiatric assessments to determine his fitness to stand trial and the possibility of exemption from criminal responsibility for his crimes due to mental illness at the time.
Psychiatrists deemed him fit and aware of what he was doing when he set fire to his home.
Court heard Pineda has a serious drug issue that was a factor in both crimes.
Information filed with the court indicates he’s a successful businessman, running East Coast Vapes.
He also owns apartment-rental properties in Fredericton.
When he was originally released April 11, one of the conditions required him to deposit a $10,000 surety with the court that could be forfeited to the Crown if he were to violate the other conditions of his release order.
Now that he’s admitted to that breach, it remains to be seen if the Crown will apply for that surety to be forfeited.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.