A jilted lover with a penchant for damaging property belonging to his exes has been imprisoned for arson.

Scott McIntosh initially denied burning his former partner’s Tauranga rental property to the ground, but on the fourth day of trial, admitted all charges.

Now the 40-year-old has been sentenced, for both the Tauranga charges he took to trial and further charges relating to another incident in Christchurch.

In sentencing notes released to NZME, Judge Bill Lawson said he did not intend to go into detail about the Christchurch offending but said, “Suffice it to say, the intentional damage relates to damage to property owned by a former partner of yours and it shows a pattern of behaviour, that you would damage property belonging to people you had formerly been in a relationship with or their partners”.

There were driving charges that went “hand in hand” with that.

The facts of the Tauranga District Court trial earlier this year, involving charges of arson, dangerous driving and unlawful use of a motor vehicle, were “more detailed and concerning”.

McIntosh had been in a relationship with the victim, Kori Flood, that ended in July 2020. McIntosh had “difficulty letting go”.

“Although I note from your pre-sentence report that you say in your mind the relationship was still on and off. That was not clear,” Judge Lawson said.

What was clear was that Flood moved on.

McIntosh struggled with this and set about damaging property. He first slashed the tyres of a BMW that belonged to a man he understood Flood to have been sleeping with. He then came back that night and set fire to the right front wheel of the car.

“The car was damaged so that it is irreparable,” the judge said.

Scott McIntosh admitted to two charges of arson, ending a trial in Tauranga District Court on 18 July 2024. The damage to the BMW he set alight made the car irreparable.

Following those incidents, McIntosh was not permitted to be in contact with Flood, but continued to contact her anyway.

She moved into a new rental property in February 2021 and began a new relationship.

When McIntosh realised she had moved on, he took a Holden Utility he’d been fixing in his job as a mechanic and drove to Flood’s house.

“You were banging on the doors, calling her a liar. You were making references to her new partner and then you left,” the judge said.

“On the way out your driving was such that you did a burnout and drove towards somebody in a dangerous way, hence the dangerous driving charge.”

The victim, her new partner, and her young sons left the house out of fear for their safety, before McIntosh returned.

“About 11.17pm you ended up getting onto a motorcycle and going back to the address,” the judge said.

“You were captured on CCTV. You were seen to have something in your hand, which the police conclude was accelerant. You were seen walking to that address and shortly after the house was engulfed in fire.”

There was $600,000 worth of damage to the house, while the personal effects were worth $40,000.

Scott McIntosh deliberately set fire to his ex's rental property, using accelerant, burning it to the ground in 2021.

“Loss of emotional control”

Judge Lawson said a pre-sentence report said McIntosh had a moderate risk of reoffending and a high risk of harm for this type of offending.

“To your credit, you acknowledge this was poor behaviour on your part, you acknowledge the malicious intent and that you were not thinking straight. You believed that the relationship was not fully over and perhaps that contributed to your loss of emotional control.”

The Crown said the starting point for the arson of the house should be between five and a half and six years in prison.

Further, there should be an 18-month uplift for the premeditated arson of the BMW.

McIntosh’s lawyer Tony Rickard-Simms said that while there had been an element of preplanning, it was clear McIntosh knew there were no occupants in the property, and no risk to life directly.

He said the start point should be four and a half years in prison for arson attack on the house, with an uplift of 12 months for the remaining charges – an overall start point of five and a half years.

Judge Lawson said the aggravating features included premeditiation and the extent of the loss.

“This was offending whilst you were on bail for arson and I find that it was part of an intent or an attempt to intimidate and control the victim into maintaining a relationship with you at the time.”

Judge Lawson began with a starting point of five years in prison.

He considered an uplift of 15 months for the arson of the BMW, and a further three months for the remaining matters, including the charges from Christchurch, to be appropriate.

Judge Lawson subsequently adopted a starting point of six years in prison.

He gave McIntosh a 5% discount for his guilty plea which, despite coming four days into the trial, brought finality and “vindicated the victim’s evidence”.

Judge Lawson referred to a detailed background report indicating McIntosh had a “traumatic background” and disconnection from his parents. He had ADHD and disrupted education. He gave him a discount of 15% for those factors.

McIntosh had provided letters of remorse and made an emotional harm reparation payment of $3000. That justified a 5% discount for remorse.

Judge Lawson gave him a seven-month discount for time spent on bail, but a three-month uplift for previous convictions.

His final sentence was four years and three months in prison.