[ad_1]
Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
The man known as ‘Little John’ who lives in a cave near Outram, has plead guilty to arson, after setting fire to a shed which housed his possessions.
A man known for living in a cave in rural Dunedin has pleaded guilty to the arson of a shed.
John Russell Black, who is also known as ‘Little John’, appeared before Judge Michael Turner in the Dunedin District Court on Tuesday morning.
The 58-year-old was charged with arson after a hut where he stored his possessions was intentionally damaged by fire on October 28.
Black has lived in a cave on outskirts of Outram, west of Dunedin, shunning not only conventional housing, but surviving on donated food parcels.
READ MORE:
* The Antidote: Five happy things to read about today, March 10
* Otago’s cave man reunited with father after 25 years
* Meet the cave man: ‘Don’t look on Tinder, you won’t find me there’
* Thirty-year mystery: Sightings of missing Kiwi Dr Peter Coop continued ‘like Elvis’
HAMISH MCNEILLY/STUFF
A man who calls himself ‘Little John’ started living in a cave west of Dunedin a decade ago.
He began sleeping in the cave after battles with alcohol addiction and a relationship collapse, more than a decade ago.
“Coming to the cave was a way to escape all the evil that was going on,” Black told Stuff last year.
That story led Black to be reunited with his Dunedin-based father and Australia-based sister, after a 25-year estrangement.
Black’s lawyer, Andrew Dawson, said his client rejected the description of being ‘’transient’’ as he had lived in the same place, the cave, over the last 10 years.
Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
Black fell out with the owners of the shed, who asked him to remove his belongings from inside, angering Black.
The court heard that Black, who knew the hut owners, had accepted their offer to stay in their standalone hut in 2020, the police summary of facts said.
That hut had no electricity or running water, and was in a paddock on the edge of their property.
In return, he did odd jobs at the property, but after he declined to be vaccinated it led to tension between the parties.
He was trespassed from the hut on November 15, 2021, leaving his personal property inside.
But on October 27, 2022 a letter from the victims requesting he move his items by November 30 was supplied to him.
Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
In explaining his actions, Black claimed he had worked to improve the shed, and didn’t want it to be used by anyone else.
Black became angry, and went to the property on October 28, removing some of his property and tipping kerosene from a lamp on a table.
He used a lighter to light the wick and fabric, which had been dipped in the kerosene.
The shed was unable to be saved by firefighters.
Black admitted the facts as outlined, stated he had worked to improve the hut, and he did not want it to be used by anyone else.
No reparation was sought by the victims.
He was granted bail, and would be sentenced on May 4.
[ad_2]