Paris man, 22, gets 18 months in jail for three Waterloo Region Walmart arsons
KITCHENER - A young man who played a key role in arsons at three Walmart stores in Waterloo Region has been sentenced to 18 months in jail.
There is a clear need to send a message to others who would plan such an attack that a period of jail will be the response," Justice Dominique Kennedy said Tuesday in sentencing Ramlengum Permauloo.
The three fires were set within an hour on Oct. 20, 2020.
Permauloo, 22, of Paris, Ont., drove a youth to Walmarts at the Sunrise Shopping Centre and Stanley Park Mall, both in Kitchener, and Bridgeport Plaza in Waterloo. The youth set fires in the toilet paper and paper towel sections.
Many employees and customers were inside the stores, but no one was injured.
The stores had to close for several weeks. Total loss was set at $20 million.
Permauloo, who knew fires were being set, and the youth both pleaded guilty to arson. The youth also pleaded guilty to unrelated charges of robbery, auto theft and possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and got a 15-month sentence on top of the equivalent of 19 months of presentence custody.
The question of why the pair targeted Walmart went unanswered.
The man's defence lawyer, Stephen Proudlove, maintained this was not part of a grand political attack on Walmart," Justice Kennedy said.
There's nothing before me that explains in a compelling way why Mr. Permauloo ... decided to participate in these offences," she said.
Kennedy noted Permauloo has no mental health or addiction issues and is intelligent.
In this instance, he acted in an incredibly immature, antisocial and dangerous way," she said.
The defence maintained Permauloo was just along for the ride."
But in truth, Mr. Permauloo was the ride," Kennedy said. Without Mr. Permauloo, these offences could not have occurred. The two acted together, in concert."
Crown prosecutor Simon McNaughton had sought two years behind bars. Proudlove asked for a conditional sentence to be served in the community.
Permauloo is a first offender who got credit for pleading guilty, saving court time during the pandemic. He has good prospects for rehabilitation, the judge said.
While on probation for two years, Permauloo can't possess incendiary devices or enter any Walmart.
I hope that this is something you can just put behind you," the judge told him.
Eleven months after the three fires, the Walmart at the Sunrise Shopping Centre was the target of another arson by a different perpetrator.
A Kitchener woman, 42, was previously sentenced to eight months of house arrest on top of the almost three months she spent in jail after being arrested for setting the fire on Sept. 9 of last year.
The woman, who has mental health issues, is now taking antipsychotic medication and responding well, court was previously told.
Gordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on crime for The Record. Reach him via email: gpaul@therecord.com