Area soldier improving

Area soldier improving:

Zach Arnold, a 2004 Neuqua graduate who was injured in Iraq, is moving to outpatient care, according to his mother, Andrea. The Army sergeant lost part of his leg May 31 when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb and has been under the care of Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Arnold now goes to physical therapy twice a day at the adjacent Center for the Intrepid and will soon be fitted for a prosthetic leg. He is scheduled to be honored with a Purple Heart next month.

Carol Stream home burns:

A Carol Stream home has suffered $50,000 worth of fire damage. Carol Stream firefighters responded to the house fire at 6:21 p.m. Sunday after receiving a call about visible smoke and flames at the two-story residence at 1N355 Farwell St. No one was home at the time. It took roughly an hour to extinguish the flames. No one was injured. Fire and smoke damage were limited to the second floor. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but firefighters believe it was accidental.

Victim's mother files suit:

The mother of a pregnant 22-year-old McHenry County woman killed earlier this year is suing the driver blamed for their deaths. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Monday in McHenry County circuit court, seeks at least $50,000 in damages from jailed McHenry resident James B. Long. Long, 24, faces 12 counts of aggravated driving under the influence and two more charges of reckless homicide stemming from the April 4 crash in Prairie Grove that killed Jennifer Miller and injured her brother and boyfriend. Miller, of Wonder Lake, was four months pregnant at the time of her death.

Murder suspect caught:

Thanks to a Florida arrest, only two men remain on the loose from the suburbs' largest gang sweep, Operation First Degree Burn. Last week police arrested Alberto Lucio, 31, in Deltona, Fla., on five counts of first-degree murder. Lucio is accused of the January 1996 murder of Curtis Thompson, 25, of Aurora, who was shot while sitting in his car. Shane Lopez, 31, of the 1600 Block Kensington Place, Aurora, already is in custody on the same charges as a co-defendant in Thompson's death. Aurora police and FBI officials from Lisle tracked down Lucio, who has a lengthy criminal history and was wanted on weapons charges in Cook County. Lucio is one of 32 people charged in a sweep of gang members involved in 22 murders dating back to 1989.