Illinois man Erik J. Crump allegedly set a home on fire after he got into an argument with family on Thanksgiving, according to police.
Crump, 21, allegedly started a fire in his bedroom after his family members told him he would no longer be allowed to live in their home, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded to the Beach Park home around 7:30 p.m. on November 27 after they received reports of a non-violent argument. The family members said that Crump had gotten into an argument with others in the home and deputies stepped in to help deescalate the situation.
In a news release shared on November 28, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) said that the family members were “upset” with Crump because he was “antagonizing and arguing” with others in the home.
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“Crump, nor others, committed a crime, and Crump agreed to keep to himself for the remainder of the evening,” the LCSO said in the release.
About an hour after authorities left, deputies responded to the same address at 8:40 p.m. following reports that the home was on fire. Firefighters “reported seeing a man, matching Crump’s description, armed with a knife, standing on the side of the roadway about a block from the residence,” according to the release.
Crump left the scene on foot and deputies set out to find him. “A sheriff’s canine team responded and tracked Crump’s scent to a dead-end in the roadway, indicating he left the area in a vehicle,” the LCSO said.
Once authorities found Crump in a storage facility in the 39400 block of North Lewis Avenue in Beach Park, he was taken into custody “without incident.”
Upon further investigation, LCSO detectives learned that Crump was “informed by his family that he was going to be kicked out of his home.” Crump left the residence following the conversation, though returned soon after and went into his bedroom near the garage.
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He then left again shortly before “the family saw smoke filling the home and immediately evacuated.” The release continued, “Detectives concluded that Crump used an accelerant to set his room on fire before fleeing the residence again.”
The home sustained “major damage” due to the fire, though no one was injured during the incident.
Crump was charged with aggravated arson and residential arson. He made his first appearance in court one day later on November 28. Crump is due back in court on Monday, December 1 for a detention hearing. It appears he has not yet entered a plea.
“It’s nothing short of a blessing that nobody was injured or killed in this senseless act,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said in a statement about the incident. “While families across Lake County were sitting down for Thanksgiving, our dispatchers were answering the call, and our deputies were out responding to them. Our team, along with our fire service partners, responded within minutes, secured the area, helped ensure the fire was extinguished, and took this individual into custody before anyone else was put at risk.”
