**** RCMP Media Release
Pictou County man charged in arson
Pictou County District RCMP have charged a man in relation to an arson that occurred on Pictou Landing Rd. in Hillside.
On August 8 at approximately 3:05 a.m., police were dispatched to a complaint of a fire at a home on Pictou Landing Rd. in Hillside. Upon arrival, police learned that the fire had been deliberately set while three people were in the home. The occupants advised police that the smelled gasoline just before they began to smell smoke and they quickly evacuated the home as it went up in flames. Despite the best efforts of local fire departments, the home was severely damaged by the fire. The fire departments were able to keep the fire from spreading to any nearby homes. No one was injured as a result of the arson.
Police had been called to the same home on July 28, where a man uttered threats to burn the home down but had fled the area prior to police arrival.
Investigators were able to gather additional evidence and determine that the same man who uttered the threats, had followed through and committed the arson. The man was located later in the day on August 8 and after a short foot chase, the man was arrested without incident.
Scott Mitchell Anderson, 35, of New Glasgow, has been remanded into custody pending a bail hearing. Anderson has been charged with the following:
- Arson – Disregard for Human Life – S.433(a) CC x3;
- Uttering Threats to Cause Death or Bodily Harm – S.264.1(1)(a) CC;
- Uttering Threats to Property – S.264(1)(b) CC
Anderson will appear in Pictou Provincial Court on August 12 at 11:00 a.m.
The investigation is continuing and is being supported by the provincial Fire Marshal’s Office.
