Man found guilty of arson of elderly men's home
Patryk Pietraszak was found guilty of committing arson on a house in Grange Terrace, Waterford City.
A man has been found guilty of committing arson on the home of two elderly brothers.
Patryck Pietraszak, of 7 Henry Terrace, was found guilty on one count of arson after a three-day long trial at Waterford Circuit Court.
The 26-year-old committed the offence in the early hours of December 3, 2023. Brothers Patrick and Vincent Power, who were not known to Pietraszak, were asleep when a glass jar of accelerant was thrown into the sitting room window and caught flame. Vincent awoke upon hearing a noise and came downstairs to find the sitting room curtains on fire. He told the Court: "I shouted up at my brother to get out, we were lucky to get out." The men escaped with only the clothes on their backs.
The house was under Waterford City and Council and was uninhabitable for almost two years after the incident. The damages cost in the range of over €77,000.
The jury of seven men and five women took over four hours to deliberate before returning a unanimous verdict of guilty.
They were unable to come to majority verdict on a similar charge concerning 8 Grange Terrace.
Pietraszak was found not guilty on other charges of assault, threats to harm and criminal damage.
Read the full report on the court proceedings here
