EDMONTON -- Sentencing for the so-called Whyte Avenue arsonist has been delayed until Nov. 27. Malice Sutton pleaded guilty in August to a number of charges after he set fire to a number of vehicles on the avenue back in April. Sentencing was originally scheduled for Friday.
On April 12, Sutton, 23, was captured on camera pouring gas on several vehicles before setting them on fire.
He caused damage to 13 vehicles before two men put him under citizen arrest in a coffee shop. One of the two men has gained infamy in the Edmonton area as “Hawaiian Shirt Guy.”
In August, Sutton pleaded guilty to arson with disregard for human life, possessing an explosive device, assault with a weapon, and arson causing damage to motor vehicles.
The agreed statement of facts showed Sutton told police he was homeless, unemployed and "suffering from declining mental health."
"He stated that on April 12th, he had been intending to purchase steel-toed boots in order to enhance his employment prospects but that, full of despair, he chose instead to purchase alcohol. He then consumed a substantial amount of vodka. He became suicidal, but decided he lacked the courage to kill himself and settled instead on a plan to damage other people’s property."
Court heard he made several Molotov cocktails behind a Whyte Avenue business. He threw one at a vehicle, and then went on a spree with a gas can and a lighter.
Sutton was scheduled to undergo a psychiatric assessment prior to sentencing.
