Overland sentenced to 7 years, must repay insurance company (update)

A judge sentenced Gay Overland to seven years in a federal penitentiary Wednesday for arson offenses that were fueled by "greed" and "revenge."

With the credit Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau gave for pre-sentence custody, the Sault Ste. Marie woman faces a further three years and two months behind bars.

Overland, 56, was convicted in July of 10 charges related to a string of fires that occurred over several years.

Gareau found her guilty of arson counts stemming from four fires at four buildings, insurance fraud related to claims made on homes destroyed in two of the blazes, as well as charges connected to attempts to reinstate a $250,000 insurance policy on her ex-husband and plotting with an undercover police officer to set fire to another property.

Overland ignited a blaze at a Goulais Avenue barn and instructed Grant Morden to set fires at homes on Cathcart and Andrew streets and a garage at the Goulais Avenue address.

When he imposed sentence, Gareau said Overland was motivated by "greed, financial gain and a desire to extract revenge or retribution against her former spouse, Donald Bijowski." 

Overland had a "great deal of animus" against her ex and clearly wanted to extract retribution and hardship, both financial and personal, he said.

The judge described the crimes as thought out and planned criminal acts, not spur-of-the-moment or spontaneous actions.

Gareau called her a schemer who "preyed " upon Morden, "a vulnerable person" addicted to drugs and alcohol who was virtually homeless and in need of money to feed his addictions.

In Morden, Overland had "the perfect dupe" who would set fires on her instruction and received very little in return, he said.

Morden was sentenced to 12 months jail in January after he pleaded guilty to three counts of arson.

Noting Overland was the "mastermind" behind the fires, while Morden was the dupe who carried them out, Gareau said a greater sentence is justified.

Assistant Crown attorney Kelly Weeks had called for a nine-year prison term, while defence counsel Eric McCooeye proposed a sentence of time served.

The Crown and defence had agreed that Overland receive a credit of 1.5 days for each day she has spent in custody, resulting in a 46-month credit against her seven-year sentence.

Gareau also ordered Overland to pay a total of $115,551 restitution to Algoma Mutual Insurance Company for the losses attributed to the Cathcart and Andrew street fires.

He denied Bijowski's claim for his financial loss, which the victim estimated to be $153,000.

Bijowski had provided no proof of his losses and without adequate proof, "there is no evidentiary foundation on which the court can make an order for restitution," the judge said.

Overland guilty of four arsons

Gay Overland faces numerous arson charges