19-year-old sentenced to three years for setting car on fire

Online Staff Report

Ericton Lewis, 19, pled guilty July 6 to one count of arson and was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Rosemary Collins.

Jan. 22, a fire investigator was dispatched to perform an origin and cause investigation involving a vehicle fire. The vehicle owner reported she had witnessed Lewis break out her car windows and set the car on fire.

The vehicle had fire damage patterns visible on the exterior consistent with a passenger compartment fire. All interior combustibles were burned or completely consumed as a result of the fire, and the vehicle was a total loss because of fire damage. Open flame with human involvement was determined to be the direct cause of the fire.

Arson is a class 2 felony with a sentencing range of three to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The defendant was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, two years mandatory supervised release and arson registration.

Posted July 10, 2012