The trial has been going on for four days.
In addition to the 19-year-old, a 21-year-old friend of his is charged with several cases of vandalism the same night in the center of Färjestad.
The 19-year-old, who is a resident of the Västerås area, has, however, been pointed out by witnesses as the one who set fire to the protection that was over a car, which then ignited an entire garage.
He himself denies the crime, and says he was so drunk that he does not remember anything.
"People could have lost their lives"
During his closing remarks, the prosecutor demanded that the 19-year-old be sentenced for aggravated arson to at least six years in prison.
- In this particular case, I mean that the act has a greater punitive value, given how many people could have lost their lives, and also the values of all the properties.
Since I believe that the real penalty for an adult should be eight years, he should then have six years taken into account his age, says Kjell Jannesson, prosecutor.
The evidence against the 19-year-old is mainly based on testimonies from three boys in their late teens who wandered around Färjestaden the same night and hung up on the three older boys in their suspected vandalism tour along Storgatan.
Two of them have pointed out the 19-year-old as guilty of the large fire.
Witnesses questioned
But the defense believes that the three young boys are not credible as witnesses, have given incoherent information and have also been given the opportunity to talk to each other before questioning:
- They have been suspected of crimes themselves, and then less emphasis should be placed on their testimony, says lawyer Claes Möllersten.
They are expected to arrive in a week, on November 6.
Should the 19-year-old be convicted, those whose cars and property were destroyed in the fire through their insurance companies have claimed damages of almost five million kronor.
According to a calculation that the prosecutor presented to the court, the fire, if it had spread, could have destroyed property worth SEK 90 million.