Judge Hands Five-Year Sentence to Man Who Torched Five Dunedin Buildings

Andrew Magnus Healey, 49, received a sentence of four years and six months in prison on Wednesday for his role in five separate fires across Dunedin. Judge David Robinson, presiding in the Dunedin District Court, described the defendant as having an entrenched history of offending and limited motivation for change.

Healey was convicted of two counts of arson endangering life and three counts of arson causing property damage. The court imposed a minimum non-parole period of two years and three months before he becomes eligible for release.

The first incident occurred on November 14, 2025, when Healey and two accomplices entered the derelict Glamis Hospital on Montpellier Street. Healey, who was not driving the vehicle, used accelerant to ignite discarded items while an accomplice acted as lookout. The group fled to a nearby park to watch the building burn before moving to Ocean Grove, where Healey set fire to a portable toilet.

Days later, the trio targeted a building on Harrow Street, causing damage severe enough that demolition became the likely outcome. They then drove to 23 Lees Street, a single-story house that was unoccupied but located near three inhabited homes. Healey and his accomplice threw three Molotov cocktails at the structure; one bounced off, while another entered through a front window and ignited. The group drove to Kensington Oval to observe the blaze, which fire crews determined had caused significant structural damage.

On the morning of the Lees Street fire, the group visited a wooded area near the Otago Pistol Club. Healey used a rolled-up newspaper wrapped in black duct tape and accelerant to set trees and vegetation on fire. A passing driver alerted emergency services, and crews extinguished the flames after the trio had driven away.

Healey was arrested at his home on November 19, 2025, following the execution of a search warrant. During sentencing, the court reviewed his background, including the fact that his brother had suffered severe burns in a previous fire. Judge Robinson acknowledged the traumatic nature of that event but noted Healey had written a letter of remorse that contradicted his behavior during the pre-sentence report, where he minimized his responsibility.

The judge granted a 5% discount for Healey's background but cited his multiple offenses and lack of explanation for the series of fires as key factors in the sentence length.