Charred chicken sends Tokora man to jail

An attempt to cook a frozen chicken by dousing it in petrol and setting fire to it resulted in an arson charge and two years' jail for a Tokoroa man.

Raymond Thomas Jacobson, a 19-year-old of no fixed abode, attempted to break into a house in Billah Street in Tokoroa last August, with the intention of stealing food, according to a police summary of facts.

Unable to enter the house, Jacobson went to the attached basement and opened a garage door. The owners of the property were asleep in a bedroom directly above the garage.

Once inside, Jacobson searched through a freezer and took out meat, including a frozen chicken.

He poured petrol on the garage floor and set it alight in an attempt to cook the frozen chicken. However, he accidentally knocked over the petrol can.

The owners woke but were unable to put out the fire.

Judge Cooper sentenced Jacobson to two years' imprisonment for arson, one year for five burglaries committed in May and August this year and three months for theft of a bicycle in August. The sentences were to be served concurrently.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)