James Balcombe’s desire to be number one in Melbourne’s jumping castle game has seen him jailed for up to 11 years over a series of arson attacks on rivals.
The county court of
Victoria heard that Balcombe, whose company Awesome Party Hire was ranked number one on Google after he commissioned the attacks on rival businesses, was arrested after he ordered that his own shed be torched.
The court heard that Balcombe had commissioned another man, Craig Anderson, to burn down his own Kangaroo Flat factory as he was concerned police would be suspicious that his business had not been targeted by arsonists.
Three days after that March 2017 fire, Anderson was arrested and subsequently named Balcombe as the instigator of that blaze and the attacks on the rival businesses.
Balcombe, 58, appeared on Thursday by video link from prison in the county court, where he was jailed for up to 11 years. Balcombe has already served two years and five months and will be eligible for parole after seven years and 10 months.
The judge, Stewart Bayles, said that while Balcombe’s goal may have been to advance his own business by orchestrating the arson attacks, the damage had extended far beyond that.
“It impacted the lives and livelihoods of others, caused significant loss, suffering and emotional trauma.”
The judge said Balcombe’s offending was persistent. He was so set on destroying his rivals he told Anderson to return to businesses when the initial fire caused only minor damage. One business was targeted three times.
“You could have changed your mind when you saw the damage caused to the property. You could have pulled back, stopped, but you did not,” Bayles said.
Many of the fires were unsuccessful, but A&A Jumping Castles was totally destroyed. The court heard that Anderson threw a molotov cocktail through a smashed window at that business, causing a huge blaze that engulfed the factory and destroyed 110 jumping castles.
The fire caused $1.4m damage and owners Michael and Aline Andrew lost everything, the court heard. The couple were forced to close their business and both now work casual jobs in childcare.
Balcombe was charged with 11 counts of conspiracy to commit arson and was released on bail in 2017. He then failed to show up to court for a final directions hearing, with his lawyer handing over a fake medical certificate.
A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was found living in Perth, running a fraudulent stamp operation under the name Paul Johnson, before pleading guilty once extradited back to Victoria.
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