Carpentersville man charged with arson after being found near a residential structure fire

CARPENTERSVILLE — On Sept. 11, at approximately 12:13 a.m., the Carpentersville Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire in the 5900 block of Pine Hollow Road.

Once the first responding units arrived at the scene, firefighters were confronted with a fire in the basement. Fire protection personnel immediately began firefighting operations to extinguish the blaze, stated Interim Carpentersville Fire Department Chief Rick Nieves.

The home sustained significant damage, which made it uninhabitable, added Nieves. The fire department estimated the initial damage to cost approximately $300,000.

Fortunately, there were no reported injuries as the residents were evacuated without incident before the fire department’s arrival. The Carpentersville Fire and Police Departments both investigated the fire.

It was through those investigative efforts that 36-year-old Jhonatan Mateo Chavez was identified as a person of interest.

Chavez was eventually located nearby and was immediately taken into custody. Following his arrest, he was charged with one count of residential arson, a Class 1 felony, and was also charged with one count of arson, a Class 2 felony.

Chavez was transported to the Kane County Adult Justice Center in St. Charles where his bail was set at $100,000 with 10% ($10,000) to apply for bond. His next court appearance is scheduled to take place on Sept. 15 in Courtroom 311 of the Kane County Judicial Center.

The Carpentersville Fire Department was assisted at the scene by emergency services from East Dundee, West Dundee, Algonquin, Rutland-Dundee, Crystal Lake, Cary, Huntley, Elgin, Hoffman Estates, Hampshire, Barrington-Countryside, and Hanover Township.