By Sheldon Spackman

woman, home doused in gasoline

Man sentenced to three years in Sundre arson fire

May 1, 2019 | 2:35 PM

A three-year jail term has been given to a Sundre-area man convicted in a 2015 arson fire that saw a woman and the home she was in doused with gasoline before it was set ablaze.

Derek Littlejohn, 46, was also given two years of probation and a five-year firearms ban in Didsbury provincial court on Apr. 29 after being found guilty last August of arson and failing to comply with a probation order in the incident four years ago.

It was Jan. 7, 2015 when Sundre RCMP, EMS and local firefighters attended a rural residence in the Bearberry area along Secondary Highway 584 northwest of Sundre to find a home fully engulfed in flames.

Mounties say the investigation revealed a 43-year-old man from the Sundre area doused the house with gasoline as well as a female resident who was in the home. The house caught fire after gasoline had been thrown on a wood-burning stove.

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Police say the 45-year-old woman who owned the home managed to escape uninjured and fled to a neighbouring residence for safety before calling 911. The suspect was located nearby soon afterwards.

RCMP says the man and woman were known to each other.

(With files from Sundre RCMP)