Round Lake man in custody after four-hour standoff with police
A Round Lake man faces multiple charges for injuring two people and damaging property as part of a four-hour police standoff at a Round Lake Park trailer home, authorities said.
Jason D. McSorely, 43, of the 1400 block of Cedar Lake Road, has been charged with aggravated arson, residential arson, and aggravated domestic battery, Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said Wednesday. McSorely also faces lesser charges of aggravated battery of an elderly person, aggravated cruelty to animals, criminal damage to government property, and criminal damage to property.
He's being held in Lake County jail on $1 million bail.
Filenko said McSorely and the 49-year-old victim had just returned to her mobile home on the 100 block of Model Court after being out together Tuesday night. Filenko said McSorely used to be a resident there, but trailer park management filed a trespassing order against him in 2016, preventing him from living there.
During an argument, McSorely choked, slapped and punched the victim, Filenko said. McSorely also put a 69-year-old resident of the home into a headlock and used a hammer to damage items inside the home, Filenko said.
The victims escaped and called police at 10:40 p.m., he said.
Before police arrived, McSorely shattered a 150-gallon fish tank with the hammer, killed the fish inside and also used the hammer on another fish tank, Filenko said.
After officers arrived, the victim told police McSorely was armed with a gun and a grenade, Filenko said. Police learned later that McSorely had a flare gun, Filenko said.
Police requested help from the Round Lake Beach and Round Lake police and the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System Emergency Services Team. Nearby residents were ordered to remain in their homes.
Police made several attempts to negotiate with McSorely, including using a two-way "bag phone" to try to speak with him. McSorely refused, cut the line on the bag phone and threw it at police outside, Filenko said.
NIPAS team members entered the home about 3 a.m., Wednesday. McSorely retreated to a bathroom that doubled as a laundry room, used the washing machine to block the door, then fired the flare gun and started a fire inside the bathroom, Filenko said.
Authorities entered the bathroom and used nonlethal weapons to subdue McSorely, Filenko said. Firefighters put out the flames shortly after everyone was out of the trailer home.
McSorely was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for self-inflicted, nonlife-threatening injuries, Filenko said. The home was deemed uninhabitable.
The case is under investigation, and more charges could be filed.