Suspect nabbed in portable toilet arsons
A Big Rock man was behind bars in the McHenry County jail Wednesday, charged with torching bathrooms around Cary last month.
Thomas J. Meehan, 18, faces three counts of arson alleging he set fire to a bathroom stall at St. Peter and Paul Church Oct. 10, and then that same night ignited a pair of portable toilets located at Lions Park South.
None of the fires injured anyone or caused significant damage outside the bathrooms.
Acting on an anonymous tip, police questioned Meehan about the fires after he was arrested Friday on an unrelated criminal trespass charge. Meehan admitted to starting the fires, but did not explain what he has against bathrooms, Cary Police Det. Susan Ellis said.
The trespassing charge alleges Meehan unlawfully entered a home in the 100 block of Bright Oaks Circle on Friday knowing it was occupied.
Meehan, according to court records, formerly lived at the residence.
Arson normally is a Class 2 felony punishable by a maximum seven years in prison. But because one charge alleges he set fire inside a church, that count has been elevated to a Class 1 felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison.
Meehan was being held Wednesday on a total of $70,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on the charges Nov. 26.
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