Tenant charged with arson at housing complex

A 41-year-old tenant has been charged with deliberately setting fire to a suite in a subsidized housing complex in North Kildonan this summer.

The Winnipeg Police Service said Wednesday the man had been arrested Tuesday in connection with the July 15 blaze that caused $200,000 damage to an apartment block at 355 Sutton Ave.

No injuries were reported from the fire that forced the building to be evacuated.

The major crimes unit took over the investigation and identified a suspect.

On Wednesday, a longtime resident showed the Free Press the suite where the fire took place.

“I can sleep better now,” Jeannette LaLiberty said upon learning an arrest had been made.

Pointing to a suite near hers on the second floor, LaLiberty said she and several neighbours tried to make the occupant feel welcome at the complex. They believed the young boy who lived with him was his son.

LaLiberty said he sometimes behaved in a strange manner. She said he took pictures of her while she was outside.

“I felt edgy around him,” she said.

She said a day after the fire she saw the tenant taking photos of the damage to the building outside.

“I said … ‘You were in my prayers. I’m so glad you never got hurt’ and ‘thank goodness your son wasn’t with you,’” she said. “Then he came over here, he took pictures and he turned around and said, ‘I’m not done yet.’”

LaLiberty, who has lived at the complex, which is operated by the Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corp., for 17 years, said she has lived in fear since the fire.

She hailed the arrest as a positive development.

Joshua Angelo Hourie has been charged with two counts of arson with disregard for human life. He remains in custody.

He has a lengthy criminal record that dates back to 2003 and includes convictions for robbery using a firearm in 2006, assault in 2012 and a pair of convictions for forcible confinement in 2016.

LaLiberty questioned why someone with a lengthy criminal record was allowed to move in to the building.

“Are they not screened?” she asked.

The Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corp. didn’t respond to a request for comment.

On its website, it says it provides “a wide range” of supports to tenants through its funding partners.

“We continue efforts to bring about positive change in the lives of families and to our neighbourhoods,” says the corporation’s website.

“We continue to work closely with communities and residents to determine the housing needs and provide assistance in accomplishing community goals.”

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca