Police are warning the public that they will have “zero tolerance” for trespassers and are closely watching the former Regal Cinema in Round Lake Beach after two suspects committed an arson fire.
The Round Lake Beach Police Department initially responded at 8:24 p.m. Saturday to the former Regal Cinema, 550 East Rollins Road in Round Lake Beach.
A passerby reported seeing an orange glow inside the former movie theater, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Jay VandeBerg said.
Police officers arrived and discovered light smoke inside the building.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District was notified and responded to the possible structure fire, along with the Grayslake, Fox Lake and Wauconda fire departments as automatic aid.
“Our initial crews found a small fire in the building. As they were making their way through the building to check all the areas, they found additional fire in one of the theaters,” VandeBerg said.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the second alarm level, which brought a total of around 20 fire departments to the scene.
Firefighters pulled hose lines into the building and brought the fire under control in around 35 minutes, VandeBerg said.
Firefighters searched the building multiple times and did not locate anyone. No one was injured.
The MABAS Division 4 Fire Investigator Task Force – which consists of investigators from numerous area fire departments – along with the Round Lake Beach Police Department and Illinois State Fire Marshal, were called to investigate the incident, VandeBerg said.
VandeBerg said the damage is “extensive” but an official damage estimate was not immediately available.
“The fire and suppression efforts severely damaged parts of the building, and the building remains shuttered,” VandeBerg said.
The Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District was assisted by the Antioch, Barrington, Countryside, Fox Lake, Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, McHenry Township, Mundelein, Newport Township and Waukegan fire departments.
Round Lake Beach police later arrested two adult male suspects in connection with the fire, which was deemed to be arson.
Anthony P. Shields, 20, of Lake Villa, and David M. Dolan, 19, of Lake Villa, were both charged with one count of arson, a Class 2 felony. They appeared in First Appearance Court on Monday morning.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said two theaters of the vacant building were engulfed in flames and the lobby was destroyed. Damage was estimated to be $100,000 “at the very least.”
Water used to extinguish the blaze also caused extensive damage to the building.
Theis said Shields and Dolan bragged about setting the fire afterward while at a McDonald’s.
Shields and Dolan were interviewed by police and said they saw a broken rear door to the building.
They told police they entered the building and Dolan started a fire in one of the theaters by lighting a chair on fire with Shields’ lighter, Theis said.
The fire grew and Dolan tried putting it out but it became too big and he burned his hands, according to Theis.
Dolan said he also helped Shields start a fire in the lobby, Theis said. Shields told officers he stacked papers with a tarp over them and lit the papers on fire.
Fire investigators found an accelerant in the building. Theis called both suspects unstable and sought their detainment pending trial.
Round Lake Beach police officials said physical evidence of their role in the fire was obtained at the suspects’ residences on Sunday.
Shields and Dolan were the same suspects who were arrested for committing a hate crime after they spray-painted hate speech at businesses in Round Lake Beach in August.
Lake County Judge Raymond Collins ordered Dolan and Shields held until a detention hearing, which was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
The former theater has been boarded up and secured for safety purposes.
Police officials said the premise is under tight security and they will have “zero tolerance” for trespassers. “All trespassers will be cited or arrested, as appropriate.”
In the early morning hours of March 24, police officers and firefighters responding to a fire alarm at the former movie theater discovered the building was broken into and extensively damaged.
The Regal Cinema closed in February 2023 and has remained vacant since.