Trio of teens charged in suspicious Elgin fire

Elgin police this afternoon announced the arrests of three 18 year olds in connection with a suspicious house fire Monday on the city's west side.

Arrested were Salvatore Riso, of the 500 block of Wendt Avenue in East Dundee; Anthony Huff, of the first block of Elm Avenue in Carpentersville; and Jessica Fliginger, of the 200 block of North Green Street, also in Carpentersville.

All three have been charged with aggravated arson, residential arson and aggravated criminal damage to property, all felonies.

They remained in the Elgin police lockup awaiting bond hearings Wednesday.

The charges stem from an intense fire Monday afternoon that sent flames into the basement, first and second floors and attic of a home in the 500 block of Ashland Avenue. The blaze left the house uninhabitable, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported and firefighters rescued five pets from inside the house.

Elgin Deputy Police Chief Jeff Swoboda confirmed officers went to the same house Saturday night to break up a fight.

"We believe there was a link between that incident and this incident (the fire)," Swoboda said. The incident was not gang-related, he added.

Swoboda said a flammable liquid was used to start the fire, but he could not say what kind, as it has not yet been tested.

Police took the three teens into custody Tuesday morning, Swoboda said.

If convicted of the most serious charge - aggravated arson, a Class X felony - the teenagers would face between six and 30 years in prison.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=281122">Witnesses say Elgin house fire was arson <span class="date">[3/23/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>