Airdrie police have charged a local man for setting fire to his own home.

"Airdrie RCMP have charged 35 year old Shaun Lee Sandbach here of Airdrie," said Cst. Dan Martin. "He's facing eleven charges in total, including arson for fraudulent purpose, possession of incendiary material, fraud over $5000, public mischief and false pretenses."

Back on December 31, 2016, Airdrie RCMP and the Airdrie Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Silver Springs Way. After the fire was extinguished, the blaze was deemed suspicious.

"Investigators looked inside and they were able to find some material that led police to believe that the fire was set on purpose, and in the manner that it was set, obviously they were looking at the owner of the structure," said Martin.

The same home had previously been the site of a structure fire on April 13, 2016.

After a fire investigation led by the Airdrie Fire Department in consultation with the Airdrie RCMP and their General Investigation Section, Sandbach was charged for committing arson in an attempt to burn his own property.

It was also discovered that Sandbach had allegedly committed public mischief in November 2015, after contacting the RCMP and claiming that his vehicle had been stolen while he was held at gunpoint. Those claims were investigated by police and found to be false.

Sandbach has been released on a promise to appear with conditions at the Provincial Court of Alberta in Airdrie on June 1.

 

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