Man Charged With Arson Threatened To Burn Ex's Belongings: Police

AURORA, IL — A 27-year-old man who was hospitalized after a May 13 duplex fire in Aurora is now charged with three felonies, including aggravated arson, after police said he barricaded himself in his home and threatened to set fire to his ex-girlfriend's property.

Police were dispatched to a home in the 500 block of Lake Street just after 10:30 a.m. for a report of a man making threats of self-harm and threatening to set fire to his former girlfriend's belongings. Police arrived on the scene and the man, later identified as 27-year-old Michael Paige, also made threats to harm officers, police said.

As officers attempted unsuccessfully to make contact with Paige, they saw smoke coming from the building, according to police.

Officers requested the Aurora Fire Department to respond to the one-story duplex, and firefighters evacuated a man from another apartment in the building.

Fire officials said light smoke was coming from a crawl space in the building and firefighters confirmed that a person, later identified as Paige, was trapped. Firefighters forced entry and found Paige, who was conscious and alert, in a bedroom and took him to an area hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Fire officials said damage to Paige's unit, which was deemed uninhabitable, was estimated at around $25,000. The adjacent unit was deemed livable.

Arson investigators from the Aurora Fire Department and detectives from Aurora Police’s Bureau of Investigations responded to the scene and interviewed potential witnesses, canvassed the area and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire.

Paige was charged with one county of felony aggravated arson, one felony count of residential arson and one felony count of arson - damage to real property.

Paige's bail was set at $250,000.

Kane County court records show Paige is also charged with aggravated domestic battery in connection with an incident a day before the fire. Bail in that case was set at $100,000.