CTV News Edmonton has reported:

Jason Zabos testified Friday that he had stopped taking medication for mental health issues about three months before a fire in his Edmonton apartment building killed one resident and sent seven others, including a toddler, to hospital. He is charged with manslaughter and arson with disregard for human life. Zabos denied starting the fire and told the court he had not planned to set one.

The fire began in the suite Zabos rented at 12:45 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2024, at 10745 79 Ave. All residents lost their homes and belongings. Ricardo Olivares, 70, was found dead in the charred remains of his suite on April 22, 2024.

Police had been at the building for eight hours trying to serve Zabos an eviction notice when the fire broke out. Earlier evidence at trial included a Facebook post made by Zabos days before the fire in which he threatened to burn down the building. An Edmonton Police Service SWAT officer also testified that he saw Zabos throw an object that looked like a Molotov cocktail before the fire started.

Taking the stand for the defence Friday, Zabos said he had been prescribed medication for major depressive disorder and a personality disorder. He said he stopped taking it on Oct. 23, 2023, after his landlord told him his lease would not be renewed. Asked why he stopped, Zabos told the defence: “It was making me too tired and I couldn’t defend myself. I felt like I was vulnerable,”

Zabos testified that he believed neighbours, people from social agencies and other unknown individuals had entered his apartment repeatedly during the year before the fire. He said he had not left his apartment for nearly seven months after returning home to find a balloon on the living-room floor. A friend brought him food during that period, he said.

A judge granted an eviction order against Zabos several days before the fire. He testified that he did not believe the court order was valid. On the night of the fire, he said, he was inside his suite with vice grips attached to the deadbolt, a step he had taken after the eviction hearing.

Zabos said he exchanged text messages with police outside his suite when officers arrived the previous afternoon. He livestreamed the standoff on social media for a time, then stopped because he was “really, really scared.” He testified that he was in his bedroom brushing his cat when he heard a loud sawing noise. The cat ran away, and he saw white flashes in a closet where he believed he had stored lithium-ion batteries and electronics.

Looking through the bedroom doorway, Zabos said he saw SWAT officers sawing through his front door, so he locked the bedroom door from the inside. He testified that an officer kicked it in and used a Taser on him, causing him to fall to the floor. While he was down, he said, he heard an officer say, “‘Oh f***, we started a fire.’”

Zabos said he was then dragged from the apartment and taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital. He testified that he saw the fire only as police began pulling him outside and that it was not very large. Asked by his lawyer whether he had started it, Zabos said no. He then suggested that his cat may have tripped over a power bar in the closet and started a fire involving lithium-ion batteries that were charging there.

A fire investigator testified earlier in the trial that there was no evidence a lithium-ion battery started the blaze. Zabos is expected to be cross-examined by the Crown when the trial continues Monday. The source report included files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson.