P.E.I. man who started string of North Shore fires in 2023 gets 2 years in prison

A 20-year-old Prince Edward Island man has been sentenced to two years in a federal prison for his part in a series of property fires along the Island's North Shore in the fall of 2023.

Justice Gregory Cann handed down Dakota Ellis's sentence on Thursday morning in Charlottetown Supreme Court. 

In their previously made sentencing submissions, the Crown asked that Ellis go to prison for four-and-a-half years, while his lawyer requested something closer to six months, which he could possibly serve as a conditional sentence on house arrest.

On Thursday, Cann spoke at length about all the factors he weighed, from the ongoing harm caused to the people who owned the burned properties to Ellis's young age to the fact that he "recklessly" put lives at risk, including those of first responders.

Cann also said it was aggravating that Ellis lit the fire outside the bedroom window of a young person living at one of the properties, a year-round residence. The other fires were set at cottages.

Ellis was in the courtroom Thursday and shook his head when the judge suggested he had targeted that home due to their personal history. 

Arson victims describe what they lost at Charlottetown sentencing hearing for Dakota Ellis

3 months ago

Duration 2:09

Crown and defence lawyers made their arguments Friday about what sentence a judge should hand down to Dakota Ellis for a string of fires that destroyed cottages and damaged homes back in 2023. The judge also heard from people who lost more than buildings in the fires. CBC's Sheehan Desjardins reports.

Cann also said that while Ellis seemed to have indicated remorse to the person writing his pre-sentence report, he generally seemed to lack an overall insight into his crimes.

"I must sentence this offender in a manner that is proportionate to this offence," Cann told the court, adding that he had to consider all of the crimes both individually and as a series of actions Ellis and another youth orchestrated.

The other person was under the age of 18 at the time, so cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Those proceedings were dealt with in youth court.

A psychological evaluation indicated that Ellis has PTSD, major depressive episodes, a learning disability and ADHD, as well as an inability to control his impulsive behaviour.

Cann said that while he took all of this into account, he did not believe any of those factors caused Ellis to do what he did. He said the young man would clearly benefit from treatment and could have good rehabilitation prospects because of his age.

Ellis also has a previous record that Cann said could be interpreted as a prior property crime: throwing full cans of soda at moving vehicles.

Once he is released from prison, Ellis will be on probation for three years. 

He'll also have to provide a sample of his DNA to a national database and will be banned from owning weapons for 10 years. 

He's also been ordered to repay the property owners for some of their losses, totalling $229,766.