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FRIDAY April 17, 2015 • www.langleytimes.com COMMUNITY Auction For the Animals
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BUSINESS Program Buzzing
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SPORTS All-Star Accolades
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Ten years for arson, assault on family ANDRE RICHARD COMMITTED ‘MOST SERIOUS OFFENSES IN CRIMINAL CODE’ – JUDGE MONIQUE TA MMING A Time s Re po rte r
DAN FER GUS ON L an gley Tim es file ph ot o
Langley’s Andre Richard was sentenced to 10 years for an April, 2014 assault on his ex-wife and stepdaughter that culminated in the family’s Willowbrook home being set on fire. Richard’s son, who was seven at the time of the attack, was also inside the house.
For lighting his family home on fire with his wife and two children still inside, a provincial court judge sentenced Andre Richard to 10 years in federal prison on Wednesday. Richard, 45, showed little emotion, keeping his eyes on the judge, after being sentenced to 10 years for arson, minus 18 months for time already served. His ex-wife, stepdaughter and eight-year-old son sat in the front row listening to the judge hand out the jail term. Judge Peder Gulbransen said Richard “committed the most serious offenses in the Criminal Code.” “To call [Richard’s actions] callous is an understatement,” said Gulbransen. “His family not only have physical scars but emotional ones.” He went on to say he can’t imagine what emotional damage has been done after the two children, witnessed their mother covered in blood and suffering a seizure on the ground on a neighbour’s front step that fateful night, April 2, 2014. He sentenced Richard
ANDR E R ICHAR D to 10 years for setting his Willowbrook home on fire, knowing that his injured wife, stepdaughter and young son were still inside. He was also given six years for two counts of aggravated assault on his wife and stepdaughter. He was given four years for breaking into their home when he smashed the sliding glass door that night. But all sentences are to be served concurrently, so in total it amounts to 8.5 years. While in jail, Richard is banned from trying to have any contact with his family. Continued Page 7
Police investigating March 10 Bypass fire DRAMATIC VIDEO ILLUSTRATES MAGNITUDE OF BLAZE THAT DESTROYED FOUR BUSINESSES BRENDA ANDERSON Times Reporter
A massive commercial fire that gutted four businesses along the Langley Bypass on the night of Tuesday, March 10 is under investigation by the RCMP. During his quarterly report to Langley City council on Monday night (April 13), fire chief Rory Thompson said the three-alarm blaze, which destroyed the south end of the Valley Motorsports building at 20579 Langley Bypass, has been turned over to police, noting that its cause has been deemed suspicious, but declining to elaborate. While showing a dramatic 6:44-minute
video, shot by Curtis Kreklau of South Fraser News Services, Thompson described the fire’s progress as it ripped through the commercial building, and explained how the presence of a fire wall, which bisected the structure, effectively saved its entire north end. On the video, several acetylene tanks can be heard exploding inside the burning building, while electrical boxes and wires on nearby power poles rain showers of sparks onto the pavement. The chief described the fire as “defensive,” meaning crews’ primary goal was to contain it to its point of origin.
Firefighters made no attempt to enter the building, he said, because by the time they arrived there was no chance that any lives or property could have been saved. Thompson told council that while it is not uncommon to find a residence fully engulfed in flames by the time fire crews are able get to it, during his more than 40 years on the job, he had never before seen a commercial building so involved by the time firefighters arrived. Asked by Councillor Paul Albrecht how much water was used to extinguish the blaze — a task which took several hours — Thompson couldn’t say for sure.
He replied that about 3,000 gallons were poured on the fire each minute and that the volume of water was more than the surface drains could handle. At one point, he said, water in the parking lot was 18 inches deep and flowing into adjacent buildings. In all, four engines, three ladder trucks, two rescue trucks and 55 firefighters from both the City and the Township responded to the fire. No one was killed or injured in the blaze, but estimates put the cost of the damage at about $6.1 million. To see the video, go to langleytimes.com.