A Lakewood man was found guilty at trial Wednesday of intentionally trying to set his father’s house on fire while he was out on bond for crashing his car into a Crystal Lake house at high speeds, seriously injuring a resident.
Connor C. Kirkpatrick, 30, is now facing up to 15 years behind bars after the jury found him guilty of a Class 1 felony charge of residential arson and a Class 2 felony count of arson in McHenry County Court.
He is due to be sentenced on June 12, court records show.
Kirkpatrick was originally charged with a Class X charge of Aggravated Arson, but court records show that charge has been dismissed.
Kirkpatrick has been held in McHenry County Jail without bond after setting the arson fire on May 20, 2023.
Authorities said at the time the blaze caused about $350,000 in damages to the home, which is owned by his father. His father was not home when the fire happened.
Kirkpatrick flagged down a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy at Route 14 and Dole Avenue in Crystal Lake on May 20, 2023, and told the deputy that his Lakewood residence was on fire.
Paramedics transported Kirkpatrick to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry for injuries while dispatching firefighters to the residence, Lakewood Police Chief Mike Roth said.
The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department arrived at the residence in the 9300 block of Firth Court in Lakewood around 5:54 a.m., and authorities said the fire appeared to be out.
A search of the one-story, single-family home revealed no one was inside, authorities said.
Fire crews extinguished some smoldering contents but the fire did not require much water to extinguish, authorities said.
The home sustained significant heat and smoke damage throughout, authorities said, causing the residence to be declared uninhabitable.
No firefighters were injured in the blaze.
Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department, Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, and Lakewood Police Department investigated the cause of the fire and later charged Kirkpatrick with aggravated arson, residential arson, and criminal damage to property by fire causing over $100,000 in damage.
In a criminal complaint filed after his arrest, prosecutors said Kirkpatrick poured about four gallons of gasoline throughout the inside of the residence around 3:43 a.m. that morning, then used a cigarette lighter to ignite the gasoline.
The complaint said Kirkpatrick had the intent to cause great bodily harm to himself and property damage to the home.
At the time of the arson, Kirkpatrick was out on bond after a brutal crash between Kirkpatrick’s SUV and a house in the 100 block of South Heather Drive in Crystal Lake on July 27, 2022.
Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Rick Neumann said an SUV driven by Kirkpatrick was traveling eastbound on Ballard Road when, for reasons unknown, continued through the intersection of Briarwood Road and left the roadway, Neumann said.
Prosecutors later said the vehicle was traveling at 96 mph when it struck the detached garage and residence.
Angelo Pleotis, 64, who lives at the involved residence, was trapped and had to be freed from the wreckage.
Pleotis was in the shower when the vehicle hit his house. He was also flown to Advocate Condell Medical Center.
Pleotis suffered collapsed lungs, broken ribs, head trauma, lacerations, and two spinal fracture dislocations, which caused paralysis.
Kirkpatrick was also trapped behind the wheel and had to be extricated from the vehicle by firefighters.
Kirkpatrick was charged in October 2022 with criminal damage to property over $100,000, aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm, and reckless conduct causing great bodily harm.
He is due back in court regarding that case on June 12, court records show.