Charges laid in White Rock's 2016 'Five Corners Fire'
More than six years after flames tore through an apartment building in White Rock, and more than 18 months after police announced they had made arrests in the case, charges have now been laid against a Surrey man, Mounties announced Thursday.
James Adrian Dyer was 18 years old at the time the fire broke out in an under-construction condo building and quickly spread to a nearby apartment complex, displacing around 100 residents, according to White Rock RCMP.
The now-24-year-old is facing seven charges, including arson, police said in a news release.
The blaze occurred on May 15, 2016 in the 15200 block of Pacific Avenue and has become known as the "Five Corners Fire." It caused millions of dollars in damage, and the efforts to fight it affected the city's water supply and quality, according to police.
In July 2021, Mounties announced that they had arrested two men who they suspected of several arsons that occurred in White Rock on the date of the fire.
At the time, police said one of the men was from "the local area" and the other was from outside the Lower Mainland. They did not name either suspect, as charges had not yet been laid. Police did not say Thursday whether Dyer was one of the two suspects arrested in July 2021.
Mounties did not list the other six charges against Dyer in their most recent statement, but online court records indicate that he has been charged with the following:
- Two counts of arson damaging property
- One count of arson in relation to inhabited property
- Two counts of theft
- One count of breaking and entering and committing an indictable offence
- One count of breaking and entering with intent to commit an offence
All of the alleged offences occurred in White Rock.
Dyer is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Surrey on Feb. 23, police said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.