Gary Bohanna, 55, of Tavy Road in Everton, has been sentenced to four years in prison with an extended licence period of four years after pleading guilty to attempted arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that on March 26 this year Bohanna doused his next-door neighbour's motorbike with petrol before attempting to set the vehicle ablaze with a lighter and a blowtorch. The attempt was foiled when his neighbour, 70-year-old Gerard Bennett, smelled the petrol and went outside to see what was happening.
Mr Bennett previously told the ECHO: "I came outside after making a drink and saw him there. He was stood outside my house, leaning over the fence with a cigarette lighter in one hand and a blowtorch in the other. It was right next to my bedroom window."
Judge condemns escalation of hostility
Sentencing on November 2, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said the offence happened amid a dispute between the neighbours, referring to matters including the erection of a gazebo, the playing of music and engine parts being placed in the garden. He said: "Day in, day out, neighbours can be disgruntled, but they do not react like that. The motorcycle in particular as placed immediately under Gerard Bennett's bedroom window, and one doesn't need a very imaginative train of thought to think that, if you had proceeded, what might have happened. When somebody starts a fire, the fire can rapidly go out of control."
The judge noted Bohanna's previous convictions, which he said appeared to have arisen after his discharge from the army, and that Bohanna had been diagnosed as suffering from considerable PTSD from his military service, which he described as a mitigating factor. His record included offences for "assault, battery, and many for drunk and disorderly behaviour", as well as an incident in 2022 when he strangled a taxi driver with a belt on his way back from the pub.
Threat to burn down neighbour's house
The court heard that a doctor's report recorded Bohanna threatening that "if (he) was to be convicted of the offence, [he] would set fire to Gerard Bennett's house". The judge said: "This is a very entrenched degree of hostility and grievance."
The doctor also recorded a "marked history of violence towards others, the alcohol abuse being a highly relevant factor", and confirmed Bohanna was a dangerous person. The judge said: "What that, I concur. It's quite abundantly clear that you do present as a dangerous offender. That's not such to justify a life sentence in prison, but in my judgement a determinate sentence cannot meet this degree of offending."
Defence cites progress in custody
Paul Woods, defending, said Bohanna struggled with mental health problems and alcohol abuse. He said Bohanna had engaged with substance abuse services and gained employment since being taken into custody, adding: "He's clearly in a far better position than he was when he went into custody and any risk he poses has been tangibly reduced."
The judge said the pre-sentence report concluded that Bohanna was a medium to high risk of re-offending and a very high risk of causing serious harm to known adults and also to the public at large. Alongside the prison sentence, the judge made a restraining order banning Bohanna from contacting or approaching Mr Bennett for six years.
