A Montreal man accused of setting fire to his house and destroying his tenant’s property in Esquimalt two years ago told a jury that when he turned on the light in his first-floor suite, there was a large explosion.
Wei Li was testifying Wednesday in B.C. Supreme Court about what happened at the house on Oct. 3, 2017. “I lost sight immediately, and direction,” he said. “There was a very narrow area, so I struggled to get out of that area.” Smoke was filling the first-floor suite. Li, 49, tried to get out the main entrance, but couldn’t open the door, so he turned around and jumped out a window.
Then Li got into his car and, because his hand was numb from burns, drove to Victoria International Airport with his forearm. Li testified that he had stars in his eyes and thought he was deaf from the explosion.
At the airport, Li told security that his rental property at 318 Uganda Ave. was on fire when he left. “I told them I was burned on the inside of the house and I was very concerned about my security and ran away. I didn’t have time to call police.”
Li, who has a son and daughter, testified that he took possession of the house in October 2016 and lived there until April 2017 with the intention of bringing his wife and children to live with him.
He said it was a big decision to buy the house because the garage was being used as a drug lab at the time. Li’s wife was concerned about the drugs and changed her mind about moving to Victoria.
Li rented the upstairs suite to Billy Joe Montgomery and his girlfriend. The three became good friends, but the relationship soured when Li moved back to Montreal and rented out the downstairs suite.
After April 2017, Victoria police called Li three to four times to discuss problems at the house. Police were constantly there.
A bylaw officer was concerned by 19 major deficits in the electrical wiring and there were plumbing problems.
Li’s friendship with Montgomery deteriorated. Montgomery would not let an electrician and a plumber into the suite, he said.
Victoria police Const. Franco Bruschetta warned Li that if the electrical problems weren’t fixed, the house might not be insured in the event of a fire. The electrical work was never fixed, Li testified.
Montgomery stopped paying rent and was threatening to trash the home, Li said.
He testified that when he arrived at the house on Sept. 30, Montgomery came out with a knife and shouted at him, telling Li to leave Vancouver Island. Four police officers arrived to calm the situation.
On Oct. 1, the tenant in the first-floor suite moved out, taking Li’s furniture and appliances with her, Li said. He started cleaning the house, then left to have dinner with friends. When he returned about 8:30 p.m., Li stood in the hallway and smelled a chemical. “And I looked around in the hallway area, in the utility area, I found an ordinary household plastic bottle, very deformed, containing a liquid with a cap on it,” Li said. “I believe it was gasoline. Then I got an escalated threat from Billy, so I went out and went to the front door.”
Montgomery came out of the house. Li said he told Montgomery to calm down, but Montgomery swore at him and began punching him in the face, kicking him and pushing him down the stairs, Li testified. As Li walked to his car, Montgomery threw rocks at him, he said.
The next day, Li returned at 11 a.m. He testified that he was worried about the safety of the plastic bottle with gas and did internet searches on safety. After that, he poured the gasoline onto a gravelly area near the back door and set aside the container for recycling. About 3 p.m., Li met with Bruschetta at the Esquimalt public safety building. They talked for about 90 minutes about how to evict Montgomery and get the electrical work done.
The following day, Li went to his house on Uganda Avenue and opened the door. He testified that he could smell strong chemicals. He looked around, but didn’t see anyone. “But I heard other people walking, running in the suite,” Li saud.
The kitchen window was wide open. Li closed the window and walked into the kitchen area and saw a gas can on a shelf. Li testified that he heard a very loud noise outside the suite, so he ran out into the hallway area. “It was dark, so I go there, I turn on the light and there was an explosion.”
Prosecutor Jess Patterson suggested that Li had had enough of Montgomery and wanted him out of his house. Patterson said Li brought the gas can and a box of kindling into the suite. “I’m going to suggest to you that you entered the garage area and you poured gas and reached in with your left hand and lit the fire. You didn’t know there were still gas vapours and, woof, the fire exploded and burned you.”
Li denied setting the fire.
The trial continues today.
