UPDATE: Citizen’s Quick Action Leads to Arson Charges in Dundee Township House Fire
The quick action of a concerned neighbor has led to arson charges filed in the case of last Wednesday’s house fire in unincorporated Dundee Township.
According to a Monday (Oct. 26, 2015) press release from the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, 27-year-old Phokam Prisayana of Elgin has been charged with residential arson, arson, criminal damage to property and criminal damage to property by use of fire or explosive. The charges were authorized by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office following the completion of the Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Kane County Sheriff’s Office deputies had taken Prisayana into custody Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, after residents saw him near a vacant house in unincorporated Dundee Township that was engulfed by fire.
According to the initial Sheriff’s Office press release, deputies were requested to assist Elgin Fire Department personnel at the scene of a structure fire at 35W635 Toll Gate Road. The house was vacant while it was being renovated, the release said.
After witnesses told deputies they saw a male subject on property, one resident detained Prisayana until the arrival of sheriff’s deputies and Elgin Fire personnel.
The building is reported to be a total loss. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported in the fire, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Prisayana is being held on $75,000 bond. His next court date is 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, in Courtroom 311 at the Kane County Judicial Center.
The charges against Prisayana are not proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
SOURCE: Kane County sheriff’s office press releases
- Editor’s Note: The headline of the original article incorrectly said a “House Fire in Elgin.” As noted in the article, the house fire was in unincorporated Dundee Township.
