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Landlord accused in fire seen with burns, court told

A man accused of setting fire to his rental property and destroying his tenant’s property needed medical attention for burns to his hand and head as he tried to pass through security screening at Victoria International Airport, a B.C.
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Fire broke out just after 10 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2017, in a duplex owned by Wei (George) Li at 318 Uganda Ave. in Esquimalt.The landlord was convicted of setting the fire.

A man accused of setting fire to his rental property and destroying his tenant’s property needed medical attention for burns to his hand and head as he tried to pass through security screening at Victoria International Airport, a B.C. Supreme Court jury has heard.

In his opening statement Monday in the case against Wei Li, also known as George Li, Crown prosecutor Jess Patterson told the jury that fire broke out just after 10 a.m. on Oct. 3, 2017, in a duplex owned by Li at 318 Uganda Ave. in Esquimalt.

At the time, Li’s tenant in the upstairs suite was Billy Joe Montgomery. The jury can expect to hear that Li and Montgomery had a challenging landlord-tenant relationship, Patterson said.

The jury will hear that on the morning of Oct. 3, Li , 48, arrived at his rental property and went into the downstairs suite, where his tenant had moved out two days earlier, Patterson said.

“I expect you will hear Mr. Montgomery was not impressed that Mr. Li was there and began yelling at him through the floor and the walls,” said Patterson.

Two guests, Amanda Watson and Shane Daley, had stayed with Montgomery the night before and both were there when Li arrived.

A short time later, Watson left the house. Then Montgomery and Daley left the house. But Li remained, Patterson said.

Montgomery and Daley returned to find the house on fire and surrounded by police and firefighters.

Montgomery was distraught. The fire had broken out in the garage where he kept many of his belongings, said Patterson.

He said the jury can expect to hear that Li left the duplex and arrived at the airport, planning to board a flight. As he passed through security, it became apparent that he needed medical aid.

The jury will hear that Li had burns to his left hand and the side of his head, Patterson said.

He was treated by airport personnel, then arrested by police and taken to Victoria General Hospital in an ambulance.

The jury can also expect to hear that after the fire, while searching the residence at 318 Uganda Ave., police found a jerry can, open and half-filled with gas, in the basement suite. There were boxes of kindling in the basement suite and boxes of kindling found partially burnt near the fire in the garage, said Patterson.

Admissions of fact read into the court record revealed that on Oct. 2, 2017, Li searched the internet on his phone for information on the safe transport of gasoline in a plastic container and for information on police and fire in the township of Esquimalt.

The trial is expected to take two weeks and hear from 17 Crown witnesses.

ldickson@timescolonist.com