A COURT has heard releasing a man without a support plan and sending him back to his old flat would be "setting him up to fail" after he threw Molotov cocktails at a Hunter disability care home that he lived near.
Dean Anthony Smith remains in custody and fronted Newcastle District Court on Thursday when his sentencing was delayed.
The 47-year-old told the court he had a history of mental health problems and had suffered severe trauma in his background.
A set of agreed facts show Smith had screamed "I'm going to kill you" before throwing a Molotov cocktail at the kitchen door of a disability care home in Cessnock, across the road from his own unit, on October 27 last year.
Smith threw lit glass bottles of accelerant at the house once about 5am and again about 5pm.
The court heard he suffered a long-term mental health condition that he wasn't medicated for at the time, and had been suffering "delusions" that the residents had been following him.
Judge Kate Traill said she was concerned that Smith could re-offend if he went back to live near the care home when he was released, and that there was nothing set up to manage his health.
"I have no confidence if he gets out, where he's going to go, who's going to supervise him, what his treatment plan is," she said.
"Sending him out into the community with nothing is setting him up to fail."
She said it would be an issue for both him and the community.
Defence barrister Sam McKensey said Smith had lived in multiple states and been treated in different places with no continuity.
"It seems that ... he's been left to deal with [his mental health] in a band-aid-type fashion his entire life," she said.
Judge Traill ordered a health report be prepared in custody and adjourned the matter to October.
The hearing on Thursday heard Smith had suffered "a tremendous amount of tragedy" when he was younger.
He accepted that his offending would have been scary for the residents inside the home.
"Afterwards, I felt bad about it ... I shouldn't have done what I did," he said.
Police were called after Smith walked up to the care home and "threw two lit bottles of methylated spirits" at the door of the kitchen.
Residents were evacuated and a staff member doused the flames.
Smith returned less than 12 hours later "yelling and screaming" and threw a lit container of accelerant at the kitchen door again.
No one at the care facility was injured on either occasion.
Police arrested Smith a short time later and officers said his unit had "smelt strongly of accelerant" when they searched it.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of damaging property by fire.
