Edmonton, Calgary police seek suspect in alleged arson extortion case

Police have issued arrest warrants for an arson suspect wanted in three alleged cases of bitcoin extortion across two different cities.

The Edmonton Police Service announced charges just days after Calgary police issued arrest warrants for the same man, Finbar Hughes, for similar charges.

According to court records, which detail the warrants for arrest, Hughes, 21, is wanted in both cities on a total of 10 charges: seven in Edmonton and three in Calgary. The charges include arson, extortion and possession of incendiary material. 

Police are accusing Hughes of extortion against several named victims in Edmonton and Calgary, with the charges alleging he tried "by menaces" to make them send him bitcoin.

The charges detail that in one case, he allegedly asked for money to be sent to a bitcoin account "or expect a worse fire," and in another instance, there was a threat "to pay to a provided bitcoin account or suffer consequences."

In Calgary, Dustin Hittel's home is still surrounded by yellow police tape in the Hillhurst neighbourhood, two weeks after a strange sound woke him up around 3 a.m. on Nov. 19.

Hittel said it was odd to see a flickering orange light outside the front of the house, since he'd just removed his Halloween lights.

"I lifted one of the blinds, and as I did that the window next to me cracked, and then smoke and fire literally started rolling into the house," he said.

"I quickly realized that I was going to become overcome with smoke, and actually tripped and fell on the floor, and was able to crawl my way out the back door."

Hittel said he's grateful firefighters got the flames under control quickly — and that his children, whose rooms would have been filled with smoke, weren't staying with him at the time. He doesn't know why his neighbourhood, or his home, would be targeted.

Police say the fire was intentionally set, and several neighbours in the area had received letters on their front steps asking for bitcoin transfers.

"As the facts revealed themselves, literally as I was sitting in the ambulance, it just got weirder and weirder," Hittel said.

The Calgary Police Service told CBC News that since the notes that accompanied the Nov. 19 fire, some Hillhurst residents have reported receiving a new round of messages demanding bitcoin.

The Calgary arson comes after a series of similar fires in Edmonton. Police say Hughes is the suspect in each case.

On Sept. 23, a vehicle was intentionally torched at 77th Street and 95th Street in the Holyrood neighbourhood of Edmonton and a note was left on the doorstep demanding bitcoin.

On Oct. 13, a house at 95th Street and 97th Avenue in the Cloverdale neighbourhood of Edmonton was set on fire and some neighbours told CBC News that they received notes suggesting that they could see the same fate unless they paid $1,000 in bitcoin.

The notes were handwritten, mostly in block letters.

Several days later, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services responded to a fire at the same Holyrood home from September. EFRS said there was evidence a soffit and an outdoor carpet were set on fire.

Other Edmonton arson investigations

EPS announced last week the force is investigating 24 arsons across six south-side Edmonton neighbourhoods this year, with investigators looking for potential connections between a "cluster" in a similar area.

Hughes is facing charges in three Edmonton arson incidents. But police said those fires are not included in the 24 that they are investigating — although they were reported in some of the same neighbourhoods.

EPS arrested a 39-year-old man on Saturday and charged him with arson in relation to fires in October at a business and a west Edmonton school.

They said he is also a person of interest in one of the 24 arsons currently under investigation.