A wedding guest who torched a Warrnambool home and killed the family dog during an alcohol-fuelled rampage has been jailed for seven years.
Adam Troy Parker, 43, was charged by police with four offences, including arson and conduct endangering life after post-wedding celebrations turned sour on New Year's Eve.
The Warrnambool County Court heard Parker returned to the south-west for the wedding and continued to celebrate late into the night on December 31, 2021.
He punched a friend several times while accusing him of stealing his alcohol and the fight was only broken up when another associate hit Parker with a metal pole before throwing a small chest of drawers at him.
When the woman threatened to call the police, the situation turned fatal.
"F*** that b****," Parker was heard yelling.
"If she wants to dog, I will burn the f***ing house down."
The man who was assaulted told the court he later heard Parker yell, "I will f***ing kill you all, I will burn this place down".
Moments later, the home erupted in flames.
Firefighters that searched through the charred remains found the body of the family's pet dog, which was suspected to have died from smoke inhalation.
The property was destroyed.
A jury found Parker guilty of five charges in July.
'A difficult decade'
Parker's lawyers used the County Court's plea proceedings to paint a picture of a man with a difficult upbringing who had struggled to integrate with society.
They told the court Parker had spent limited time in the community over the past 11 years.
"This has been a difficult decade for Mr Parker," lawyer Rohan Barton said.
Parker has spent a little more than four-and-a-half of the past 11 years in the community over eight prior offences, including drug possession.
Mr Barton argued that while Parker deserved jail time for the offending, he had turned his life around since attending a Shepparton residential rehabilitation facility.
He argued for a lengthy period of supervision in the community for his client.
"Provided he stays away from Warrnambool, his prospects of rehabilitation are very good," Mr Barton said.
But Crown prosecutors were firm in the belief the offending – which caused more than $100,000 damages – was very serious.
Today Judge Anne Hassan told the Melbourne County Court it was "fortunate no-one was killed".
"You behaved in a wholly disproportionate and irrational way," she said.
"Moral culpability is high."
But Judge Hassan said Parker's time at the residential facility showed his "prospects of rehab" were "reasonable."
Parker was sentenced to seven years in jail.
He will not be eligible for parole until 2027.
He has spent 381 days in pre-sentence detention.
