ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A St. John's man charged with burning down his own property three years ago was acquitted Wednesday, after the Crown failed to prove he actually owned the building in question.
David Badrudin, 43, had pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson to his own property, namely Waterford Manor, a historic building that his family had owned since the early 1990s.
There are a number of different arson charges in the Canadian Criminal Code, and Badrudin's charge related specifically to a person's own property.
His jury trial got underway in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's Monday and was set to take two weeks, but ended after the Crown closed its case and the defence made an application for a directed verdict.
A directed verdict application is generally made by defence lawyers before they call any witnesses to testify at trial, arguing for a dismissal of a charge on the basis that the Crown has not proven the essential elements of the offence.
In Badrudin's case, defence lawyers Randy Piercey and Ken Mahoney argued there had been no evidence presented to suggest Badrudin was actually an owner of Waterford Manor — something that would not have been an issue had he been charged with a different arson offence.
Of the witnesses who testified for the Crown, two — a father and son who lived in a basement apartment in the manor — said they understood Badrudin to be a co-owner of the property.
They acknowledged on cross-examination, however, that this was hearsay.
About an hour after proceedings began Wednesday, Justice Garrett Handrigan delivered a directed verdict, instructing the jurors to find Badrudin not guilty of the arson offence and letting him know he was free to go.
Waterford Manor, a three-storey Queen Anne-style building built in 1905 at 185 Waterford Bridge Rd., was severely damaged by fire on the evening of July 7, 2016. At that time, owner Nas Badrudin told The Telegram he had received a call from the manager of the building, who reported hearing two explosions before it caught fire. No one was reported to be in the manor.
Firefighters worked for close to 12 hours to extinguish the blaze.
David Badrudin's trial began with an agreed statement from the Crown and defence, acknowledging the manor had been purposely set alight with gasoline from four gas cans strategically placed throughout the property.
With circumstantial evidence only, prosecutor Chris McCarthy attempted to prove through a number of witnesses that it was Badrudin who had started the fire. The two tenants testified hearing several explosions and seeing Badrudin covered in gyprock with singed hair and eyebrows.
The manor's manager told the court Badrudin had been banned from being in the building alone, for fear he would damage it.
Piercey and Mahoney suggested Badrudin had been charged with arson a year after the fire, after the insurance company had collected information and given it to police.
Waterford Manor, which had been recognized as a heritage structure and given a Southcott Award for heritage restoration by the Newfoundland Historic Trust, was demolished in October 2018.
