James Durkee, 55, of Woodstock.

A 55-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to setting a vehicle on fire inside a garage of the Woodstock Post Office.

James Durkee, 55, of Woodstock, was found guilty of arson, a Class 2 felony, following a negotiated plea before McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge.

The Woodstock Fire and Rescue District and Woodstock Police Department responded around 2 p.m. November 18 to the United States Postal Service, 1050 Country Club Road, for a report of a vehicle fire.

Firefighters quickly extinguished a car that was engulfed in flames inside an employee parking garage attached to the Post Office. The building was briefly evacuated.

The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal was called to assist police and fire officials investigate the cause.

Prosecutors said that witnesses made identifications of Durkee and surveillance footage captured him purchasing various items used to commit the arson.

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Durkee was sentenced to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections pursuant to the plea. He was sentenced to an extended term of prison based on his prior criminal history, prosecutors said.

The case was investigated by members of the Woodstock Police Department and prosecuted by Susanne Groebner of the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.