Mahia man in custody over fire at property where Dylan Blake died

23-year-old roofer Kelvin Blake has been accused of deliberately setting fire to a Mahia property where Dylan Blake died suddenly in unexplained circumstances in July.

A man accused of deliberately setting fire to a Mahia property that resulted in a huge emergency response, including police, fire trucks, and ambulances, can now be named.

Kelvin Blake, 23, a roofer, had been living at the Kaiwaitau Rd property with his father and grandfather, when they reported the late-night fire on Sunday November 26 last year. It was the same property where another man Dylan Blake, who was 42, died suddenly in unexplained circumstances about midday on July 6 last year.

Police say Dylan’s death was “technically still under investigation but will be forwarded to the Coroner shortly”.

A police and fire service investigation of the blaze at the Kaiwaitau Rd property resulted in Kelvin Blake being charged on December 14 last year, with two counts of using fire to deliberately damage property — a cabin and garage — and intentionally using fire to damage a curtain at the property, knowing it was likely to endanger life. He is yet to enter pleas.

A Justice of the Peace who first dealt with the case in the Hastings District Court last month remanded Blake into custody. Interim name suppression was granted but lapsed with his appearance in Gisborne District Court yesterday. Blake beamed in via AV-link from Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison.

Counsel Manaaki Terekia said there were no grounds on which to seek a continuation of the suppression order. Neither could a bail application be made as Blake had no suitable address.

Judge Haamiora Raumati agreed with Mr Terekia that specialist mental health assessments should be made of Blake before the case progressed.

The judge further remanded Blake in custody for those reports and scheduled him to appear again on January 22.

* Correction: An initial version of this story stated that Dylan Blake was Kelvin Blake’s uncle, but it is unclear what family relationship the pair had. The story has also been updated with a line from police to say Dylan’s death is “technically still under investigation but will be forwarded to the coroner shortly”.