Merritt arsonist arrested twice in one week for breaching conditional sentence

A Merritt man who previously pleaded guilty in connection a series of church arsons in 2019 was arrested for breaching conditional sentencing conditions twice in a week.

August Caprian appeared in court on Aug. 27 for breaching his conditional sentencing orders and was again released has court proceedings continue.

Caprian plead guilty to three counts of arson and one count of break and enter on July 23, which stemmed arson incidents in the Nicola Valley in January 2019, according to a Merritt RCMP press release.

RCMP said two officers were patrolling a fire evacuation zone in Lower Nicola, where they found Caprian intoxicated, riding a bicycle without a helmet on Aug. 20. He was arrested for breaching his conditions but later released from custody.

A warrant was later issued for his arrest and on Aug. 26 when a Merritt officer attempted to arrest Caprian on the warrant at his home, they found he was not there, RCMP said. He was found at another home, again, breaching his conditions.

A court date is to be fixed today for a hearing regarding the allegations that Caprian had breached his conditional sentencing.

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