Watch above: Two men are facing charges after a massive condo fire ripped through a site that was under construction last March. Vinesh Pratap has the details.
EDMONTON – Two Edmonton area men who worked on the construction project have been arrested and charged for a massive fire that destroyed a condo complex in southwest Edmonton in March.
Eric Gould — a 28-year-old construction framer — faces a long list of charges, including arson, break and enter, conspiracy, possession of stolen property, fraud and weapons-related offences.
Gould is facing a separate arson charge for a 2011 residential fire in Pigeon Lake. He was a framer on the building site there at that time.
Edmonton police also arrested 22-year-old Jeremy Thibert, an employee of Gould’s. His charges include arson , break and enter, theft under $5,000 and conspiracy.
Both men worked as framing contractors on the Essence at Windermere South project.
“The investigation revealed that this was a very well planned and thought out event,” said Staff Sgt. Terry Innes.
The fire caused $6 million in damages, including $100,000 to surrounding homes and equipment.
Investigators determined in April the fire had been deliberately set.
“With any sort of arson investigation, they are extremely complex… most of the evidence is literally burned up,” said EPS Det. Lisa Mah, “especially with this one of this magnitude, it is extremely complex.”
“For this one to be literally solved within six months I would say is rare, considering the amount of damage that was done.”
In August, police released video footage from the fire, in hopes of finding those behind it.
After releasing that video, Crime Stoppers received a tip that led to the arrests.
Officers said Gould became a suspect early in the investigation.
In terms of a motive, police would not go into too much detail, but would say Gould was not fulfilling his duties as a framer.
“At the end of the day, it was financially motivated,” said Innes.
Edmonton police say more than 60 members worked on the investigation over the past six months.
Both men have been remanded and are scheduled to appear in court on October 8.
Cove Properties issued a statement Friday thanking the police and fire department for their “professionalism, quality, and expertise.”
“These arrests were achieved as a result of the extensive time commitment and excellent police work by dozens of members from specialized areas,” said Staff Sgt. Terry Innes, with the EPS arson unit.
“We’re happy that some results come when this type of thing happens,” said Daryl Brennan, chief of fire investigations.
“It creates quite an impact – not just on the city, the fire department, the police department, resources, the building contractors – everyone has been impacted. It’s unfortunate that these types of circumstances happen.”
WATCH: Kelsey Cochrane was in a vehicle travelling past the fire when she captured the footage
On March 15, Cove Properties’ Essence at Windermere South complex went up in flames.
Emergency crews were called to the development, located near 10 Avenue and 173 Street Southwest, around 3:30 a.m. Roughly 12 fire trucks and 50 firefighters responded.
Here’s a look at the Essence at Windermere South complex on October 3, 2014.
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