STALKER WHO SET FIRE TO VAN WITH EX INSIDE IN ALDERTON JAILED
A man who set fire to a campervan while his former partner was sleeping inside has been sentenced to over 11 years in prison.Kenneth Jones, aged 64 and residing on Dames Road in Wanstead, London, pleaded guilty to arson but denied that his actions were intended to put lives at risk.
Despite this, he was convicted of the more serious charge of arson with intent to endanger life.
His ex-partner narrowly escaped harm because a neighbor noticed the flames and alerted authorities, as the court heard.
Jones also admitted to stalking her, which involved instilling fear of violence.
In addition to the arson conviction, Jones pleaded guilty to multiple counts of criminal damage and was issued a life-long restraining order.
The jury was told he rented a car in Cheltenham on February 18 of this year, filled a plastic bottle with fuel at a petrol station, and drove to Alderton near Tewkesbury.
Around midnight, he set the vehicle alight.
At the time, the victim was sleeping inside the campervan with her new partner.
The court also learned that Jones had stalked her in the lead-up to the incident, traveling into Gloucestershire several times and repeatedly damaging her car.
Detective Constable Allun Johnson described the events as “a miracle” that no one was seriously hurt or killed, citing Jones's “atrocious actions.” He explained that Jones’s harassment escalated from damaging her vehicle multiple times, unannounced visits to her home, and stalking her in his vehicle, culminating in the arson that endangered both her and her partner.
Jones believed he could evade justice by using a hire car that night, but investigators proved his prior stalking behavior, which the victim had not been aware of at the time.
The court sentenced Jones to 11 years and six months for arson with intent to endanger life, along with an additional year for stalking and criminal damage, to be served concurrently.
He was also banned from entering Cheltenham and Alderton.
