A man who set himself on fire inside a car which crashed into a western Sydney police station, has been found not guilty of intentionally destroying property and endangering lives.
The 63-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered serious burns after he ignited a gas bottle inside his car in July 2016.
CCTV shows the incident and the vehicle then rolling into a garage door at the Merrylands police station.
Today, Judge Siobhan Herbert found him not guilty, on the grounds of mental illness.
In handing down her judgement, Judge Herbert noted that the man had been the prime carer of his elderly mother.
He had also been due in court over an AVO against his brother.
She also noted evidence of a history of delusions, stretching back 30 years, that police were monitoring him.
The judge said that he had a "delusional fixation with police corruption" and that "there were corrupt police at Merrylands".
She said the accused had bought an 8.5 kilogram gas bottle at a fuel station prior to the incident.
She detailed evidence from police who had run to the burning car that the man had locked the passenger door and turned the car towards the station's garage door.
The accused had argued he did not remember crashing into the door and he did not want to harm anyone else.
"He picked his time so no-one else would get hurt," Judge Herbert said.
She told the court, that while the accused had destroyed his vehicle, he could not appreciate the wrongness of the act.
"He did not know that what he was doing was wrong," Judge Herbert said.
The Greystanes man will remain in custody until another court hearing next month.
