Man charged with arson to fight charges: lawyer

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This article was published 04/08/2011 (5474 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The lawyer for the man charged with setting 18 fires in Fort Rouge says his client has the mind of a child and will fight the charges.

Martin Glazer says Brandon Sutyla, 20, was at home when many of the fires were set.

Glazer says Sutyla suffers from attention deficit disorder and operates at the intellectual level of a 10-year-old.

He says Sutyla was alone when he confessed to the fires during 24 hours of police questioning.

Police charged him with 18 counts of arson He was arrested Wednesday and is currently in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Police say Sutyla has previous convictions for arson, was on probation and was forbidden from possessing devices that can cause fires.

All but one of the charges Sutyla faces are connected to fires in the Fort Rouge area, where about 20 fires have damaged homes, garages and vehicles.

Police said the fires caused an estimated $680,000 in damage. They were on streets such as Lorette Avenue, Fleet Avenue, Dudley Avenue, Hector Avenue, Garwood Avenue and Scotland Avenue.

No people were injured in the fires, but three pets were killed in one blaze on Hector Avenue.

The fires had the neighbourhood on high alert and many residents called for increased police patrols.

Police say the accused lives in the area.