Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Waterloo Street fire arsonist jailed
The convicted arsonist Ashanti Goodridge
The woman responsible for the fire on Waterloo Street on Tuesday night was yesterday sentenced to five years in prison after she pleaded guilty before Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson to answer the charge of arson.
Ashanti Goodridge, 39, of 137 Waterloo Street, on January 12, last, set fire to a house at 137 Waterloo Street, South Cummingsburg.
At the time, actor Henry Rodney was in the home.
Police prosecutor, Stephen Telford, stated that Goodridge is the sister of the owner of the house while Rodney was a tenant at the property.
He said that Goodridge used to collect the rent on her sister’s behalf until she was relieved from doing so by her sister.
He added that she is a known alcoholic and was abusive to Rodney and the neighbours. Telford claimed that when Goodridge drinks she would usually threaten to burn the house down. He stated that on the night she threw gasoline on the building and set it alight then ran away.
Goodridge, who was unrepresented, denied that she is alcoholic. She said that she did not drink that evening.
She claimed that she just set a bed in the house on fire because the neighbours and Rodney would usually torment her and give her no attention.
The fire which was estimated to about $30M in losses occurred on Tuesday evening and left two buildings completely burnt and three nearby badly scorched. The fire reportedly started in the building which was occupied by six persons including Goodridge, actor Henry Rodney and his relatives. Goodridge, who ran after setting the fire in the lower flat which she occupied, subsequently turned herself in at the Brickdam Police Station on the said night. A nearby resident claimed that he saw Goodridge set a tree near to the wood and concrete structure alight. Actor Henry Rodney who was present in the building at the time of the fire claimed that around 21:30hrs on the night he smelled something burning and within minutes noticed the building, including the stairs, on fire. He and his family then escaped the burning building unhurt but were unable to save any valuables.
Rodney claimed that Goodridge had repeatedly threatened to torch the structure and she made well on her threats Tuesday evening after a sister called telling her (Goodridge) that she needed to vacate the house.
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