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
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.