Wheeling man pleads guilty to arson, will receive probation, counseling
A 41-year-old man charged with setting a fire in the hallway of his Wheeling apartment building pleaded guilty to arson and disorderly conduct.
In exchange for his guilty pleas Wednesday, Michael Barth was sentenced to 24 months' mental health unit probation. He was also ordered to spend 12 months on home confinement and pay $634 in fines, court records show.
At Barth's bond hearing, prosecutors said firefighters responding to an alarm arrived at the apartment building about 2:53 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2016, to find the sprinklers on and the "fire no longer active." They found damage on the door leading to residents' storage units and damage on the carpet in front of that door, said prosecutors, adding that fire investigators detected pour patterns and odor from a chemical solvent on the floor. Investigators determined the fire was set intentionally, prosecutors said.
About an hour later, police and firefighters knocked on Barth's apartment door and entered to find him in his bedroom. Police recovered two lighters from his pocket and a gallon jug of octane booster that had pour drips on its exterior.
No one was injured in the fire.
According to prosecutors, in the weeks leading up to the fire, Barth made several 911 calls resulting in emergency responses to the building.
Mental health unit probation provides "specialized supervision," according to the Circuit Court of Cook County website. As a condition of the probation, defendants participate in counseling and drug testing and are subjected to increased office reporting and field visits.