Billingham arsonist jailed for car alight in jealous rage

Brandon Murray’s fury boiled over just days after he reacted angrily to a man messaging his partner over Snapchat before going round and smashing the windows of his mother’s home.

The 20-year-old then told police officers ‘I wish I had burned the ****ing house down’ when he was arrested.

The defendant was already serving a suspended sentence when he went on the rampage in October last year, Teesside Crown Court heard.

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Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said Murray caused between £400 to £6,000 worth of damage to the woman’s home after he got angry about a series of Snapchat messages and became abusive towards the man.

Mr Dryden said: “He said - ‘Come and meet me little girl. I have already done you mam’s windows’.”

He said three days later, the defendant became angry with his partner and turned up at her aunt’s house and set her car alight in the early hours of the morning.

After his arrest, Murray continued to make threats and told them ‘I wish I had burned the ****ing house down’.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said the loss of her car had affected her ability to work as a carer and had cost her money to replace.

Mr Dryden said Murray admitted taking cocaine and ecstasy at the time of the offences between October 27 and 30 last year.

Brandon Murray (Image: Cleveland Police)

Murray, of Denbigh, Road, Billingham, pleaded guilty to arson, criminal damage and threatening to cause criminal damage.

Emma Williams, mitigating, said her client was fully expecting a custodial sentence but remained determined to turn his life around and become a good father.

She added: “He has learned his lesson for this, his time on remand has been an eye-opener for him. He said himself that he needed to be sent to prison for what he did.

“He wants to move on with his life and be there for his child.”

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Recorder Aisha Wadoodi jailed Murray for a total of two years and three months after activating part of his suspended sentence.

She added: “You took some accelerant, got a taxi to go to her aunt’s house where she (his partner) was staying and set fire to her car before saying ‘your families houses are going up next’.

“You had obviously been angry since October 27 – it was clearly building up inside you until October 30 when you used an accelerant to start the fire.”