Police: Man burned two vehicles in Elgin as part of 'bucket list'

A homeless man charged with setting fire to two vehicles Tuesday in Elgin told police it was on his "bucket list" to watch them burn, police said.

Alfredo Leynes-Valdes, 23, faces felony charges of arson, burglary and obstructing identification, according to Kane County court records.

Leynes-Valdes was arrested after authorities responded at 2:48 a.m. Tuesday to the 300 block of Brook Street where a van and sport utility vehicle were fully engulfed in flames, according to an Elgin police report.

Officers determined the fire had been deliberately set and saw Leynes-Valdes standing a block away watching firefighters put out the blaze.

"Defendant was intoxicated, smelled strongly of fire and appeared to be enthralled with the fire," an officer wrote in the police report.

Police determined Leynes-Valdes took prescription pills from one of six vehicles along Brook Street that had been burglarized, according to the report. After Leynes-Valdes gave police a fake name, they arrested him on a warrant and read him his Miranda Rights.

Leynes-Valdes admitted that he drank, built a small fire and burglarized five or six vehicles before setting the van on fire because it was on his "bucket list" to watch it burn.

"Defendant admitted he stuffed papers into the gas tank of a white van, putting brake fluid on said papers, then using his lighter to light it/the vehicle on fire," read part of the report, which added the fire/explosion spread to a blue 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer.

His bail amount and next court date were not immediately available.

If convicted of arson, Leynes-Valdes faces up to seven years prison.