In early December 2019 the Saanich Police began receiving reports of several small fires throughout the Municipality. This prompted immediate action from Saanich Police Detectives and a media release was issued to the public for their awareness on December 12th.
One of these fires was inside a dumpster in an underground parking lot in the 1500 block of Cedar Hill X Road. Another occurred was inside a residential building complex in the 1000 block of Cloverdale Avenue. In total five fires were investigated from December 6th to December 20th.
On Sunday December 22, 2019 Detectives located and arrested Justin Dorey, 34, whom they believed was responsible for these fires. Dorey remains in custody and is set to appear next in Victoria Court on January 9, 2020 for charges related to Arson.
“There have been no further fires reported in Saanich since December 20,” said Cst. Markus Anastasiades. “While the motive for these fires is not clear at this time, we are very pleased to have this person in custody, as the randomness and frequency of these fires was very concerning to investigators.”
Cst. Markus Anastasiades
Public Information and Communications Officer