There are criminals who try to avoid getting caught. Then there is Fayth Davidson, who live streamed their own arson attack on Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on YouTube and titled the broadcast “Spinning Trolley.”
Davidson, 22, poured fuel over a jacket at the entrance of the court building in Fife in the early hours of February 6 last year, lit it, jumped back from the flames, and broadcast the whole thing. During the stream, Davidson made remarks including “this building is a work of art” and “I’m here on Sky News and I am being caught red handed.”
A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh was shown footage of the moment the fire took hold. Lady Haldane called it “a very serious and disturbing case” and sentenced Davidson to five years and four months in prison.
Police identified Davidson after discovering a fuel can had been purchased from a nearby Esso garage shortly before the offence. CCTV from the garage matched the accused. Davidson, previously known as Joshua, already had convictions for vandalism and wasting police time.
A passerby on his way to work spotted Davidson muttering outside the closed court building before watching them pull out a lighter, lean down, and ignite the fuel soaked jacket. He called the fire service at 4.51am.
Defence counsel Megan Davidson told the court that the accused was “a complex and troubled young person” with underlying issues involving alcohol and substance misuse.
I have covered my share of bizarre crime stories, but live streaming your own arson on YouTube takes a special kind of recklessness. The fact that nobody was seriously hurt is down to luck, not judgement. Five years feels about right.
