$100,000 bond with conditions set for arson suspect

It took some subtle police work for Elk Grove Village authorities to track down the woman suspected of starting a fire Wednesday afternoon at Food 4 Less.

But, there was nothing subtle about the special conditions accompanying the $100,000 bond a Cook County judge set Friday for Pamela Dinter, 58, who police say started the fire in the store's paper goods aisle.

The store's surveillance video provided police a description of the suspect who cameras caught reaching her arm into a shelf to light the fire, said Assistant State's Attorney Adam Klugman, following Dinter's bond hearing in a Rolling Meadows courtroom. Video also showed the defendant leaving the store in a silver, two-door Saturn.

Police compared the car's description with local vehicle registrations. From the registrations, they compared photos of the owners with the image from the store's videotape, Klugman said. Their investigation led them to Dinter's address in the 1100 block of Cernan Court in Elk Grove Village, where they saw the car in the driveway, Klugman said. She faces a charge of aggravated arson.

Sgt. Mike Gaspari declined to comment on the mechanics of the investigation but did say, "our investigators did an outstanding job putting this one together."

About 60 to 70 people were in the store, located at 901 Meacham Road, at the time of the incident, but no one was in the aisle at the time the fire was set, said Klugman. One person at the store suffered a minor injury.

Store employees declined to comment except to say that the store reopened at 6 a.m. Friday. Dinter, who received probation for a 1979 arson conviction, must post $10,000 to be released from Cook County Jail. If she posts bond, Dinter will be under 24-hour house arrest, which allows her to leave only for attorney or medical visits or to attend religious services.

She next appears in court March 13.