Sydney This article is more than 2 months old

Friendlyjordies case: man charged over alleged arson attack on YouTube personality’s Bondi home

This article is more than 2 months old

Man, 37, arrested by police after November 2022 fire at Jordan Shanks-Markovina’s home

A man has been charged over an alleged arson attack on the Sydney home of a popular YouTube personality.

Emergency services responded to the fire in Bondi, in the city’s eastern suburbs, in November 2022, when the property and an adjoining house were significantly damaged.

The home, belonging to controversial content producer Jordan Shanks-Markovina, also known as Friendlyjordies, was vacant at the time.

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On Wednesday, detectives arrested Tufi Junior Tauese-Auelua, 37, at Silverwater Correctional Centre over the alleged arson.

He was charged with two counts of destroying or damaging a property by fire, remanded in custody and appeared before Waverley local court.

Tauese-Auelua did not apply for bail and was due to return to court in late January.

Police allege the attack was “coordinated and targeted” and said further arrests were expected in the coming weeks.

Det Supt Gordon Arbinja said police believed there were “at least” four people involved, including the man arrested on Wednesday, and that they had “links to an organised crime network that is situated in the south-west of Sydney.”

“This man, police allege, used his own vehicle as a getaway car.

“Police are alleging that this person acted in a joint criminal enterprise with three other men.”

Arbinja said there was a “strong possibility” that the incident was linked to content Shanks-Markovina had posted online.

“There is a strong possibility that it is connected, but we are obviously saying the reaction was disproportionate,” Arbinja said.

“It is a possibility that it was in retaliation, it’s a strong possibility. This place was attacked twice in the space of six days in November last year.”

While the man arrested on Wednesday was already in a correctional facility, Arbinja said the other men allegedly involved were in the community.

Arbinja said Shanks-Markovina had been “very cooperative” with police and the investigation would not have been able to progress without him.

Police previously released CCTV footage of vehicles believed to be involved in the alleged attack. Arbinja said investigations would continue.

“This alleged attack was coordinated and targeted with more arrests expected in the coming days and weeks ahead,” he told reporters.

Police said the incident appeared to be linked to another fire reported at the property days earlier.

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