The Oliver man who set fire to a pharmacy in his community in 2021 will spend two years in jail for the crime.
Steven Marlo Gallagher, 31, was sentenced on Oct. 5 in Penticton Supreme Court for setting the fire that caused nearly $500,000 damage to both the pharmacy and a neighbouring businesses.
Justice Crerar stated that the arson was a serious offence which requires denunciation and deterrence and levelled a sentence of two years less a day after taking into account time served. He also was given three years probation.
“Mr Gallagher’s crime most resembles a vengeance-based arson triggered by the police visit and Mr Gallagher’s long-simmering resentment of authority figures,” said Justice Crerar. “That his vengeance is directed towards an innocent and unrelated party — the pharmacy and the neighbouring premises — further increases the moral culpability.”
That night in 2021 saw shots fired at a parked police car at the RCMP detachment, the fire set at the pharmacist, and a truck linked to both scenes set on fire near Triangle Park. Thanks to video evidence from Gallagher stopping to steal a drink, and giving the camera an ideal shot of his face, he was linked to all of the incidents that night.
The Justice noted that, unlike many other arson cases, Gallagher’s was not spurred by mental illness or specific substance abuse, and that the arson was not a spontaneous or impulsive action.
“The arson was calculated and deliberate and executed over time for multiple steps with many points at which he could have changed his mind,” said the Justice. “Mr. Gallagher selected an expendable vehicle, made arrangements with an associate or associates for a post-arson pickup, drove into Oliver, shot up the police car, parked and ignited the truck, walked slowly towards the pharmacy, stashed the case, walked back to the pharmacy, broke into the pharmacy and lit the fire.”
“He then calmly exited the pharmacy after stealing a drink and was picked up by an associate in a car, later seen shooting off guns and heading in all probability back to Mr Gallagher’s home.”
The Justice did recognize that Gallagher had made moves towards becoming a law-abiding citizen, including getting his GED while in custody and apologizing to his victims and the first responders who dealt with the fire he had set.
Defence had been seeking a 25-month sentence, reduced by time served, followed by the maximum three-year probation.
The Justice noted that Gallagher’s history of breaching probation orders, along with a string of firearm offences that continued up until he was taken into custody in 2022, made such a light sentence impossible.
Gallagher was also ordered to pay restitution to the insurers for the building and the physiotherapist.
The damage to the pharmacy alone, not including the inventory that was destroyed, added up to $428,000, and the physiotherapy office had $43,673 worth of damage.
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Gallagher is being sentenced in November for four firearm offences that occurred one month prior to the arson.
Those offences have some parallels to the present facts, said the judge in his sentencing. Following complaints of multiple shots being fired from a truck, police pursued the vehicle. The vehicle ignored the police lights and siren, and only stopped to avoid a police spike belt. Gallagher was found in the front passenger seat, with multiple firearms, including restricted and prohibited firearms and ammunition.