BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury senior accused of torching and destroying his ex-girlfriend?s home was found not guilty of arson Friday at the Sudbury courthouse.
Bazel Reid, 64, was charged with arson following a fire that destroyed a Sudbury home the evening of Nov. 30, 2002.
The Crown alleged Reid was upset a woman had ditched him and that he broke into her home and set it on fire several weeks after their relationship has
ended.
By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, the home had burned to the ground.
Reid likely faced a lengthy jail sentence if found guilty, however, Justice Ian Gordon said he was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt Reid was
responsible for setting the fire.
All of the Crown?s evidence during a four-day trial was circumstantial.
At the end of the day, Gordon ruled Friday he was not convinced Reid was responsible for the arson and found him not guilty.
A key part of the Crown?s case was a ?perfect footprint? found in the snow near the scene of the crime. A store clerk testified she had sold a pair of boots to Reid earlier the day in question and police found the footprint to be a near-perfect match to the boots Reid had bought.
Gordon ruled while the evidence surrounding the boot print ?troubled him,? he was not convinced on the basis of all the evidence presented at trial that the Crown had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Another Crown witness testified Reid asked him to lie to police if questioned about where he was the night in question.
However, that witness was drunk and suffered from mental health issues and was not a reliable witness, said defence counsel Robert Beckett.
Gordon said he put very little stock in that witness?s testimony when making his final decision.
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