Man charged with West Dundee arson unfit for trial
A 27-year-old Elgin man accused of an October arson in West Dundee Township has been declared unfit to stand trial, records show.
Phokam Prisayana, of the 400 block of Chicago Street, will be treated in the state's Department of Human Services for up to a year until his fitness can be restored.
Authorities say Prisayana was basically caught red-handed - holding a gas can - outside the fire on the 35W600 block of Tollgate Road the afternoon of Oct. 21 that caused an estimated $300,000 damage and rendered a single-family ranch home uninhabitable.
According to Kane County court records, an evaluation by the Kane County Diagnostic Center was ordered Nov. 19.
The evaluation, which is confidential and sealed by the court, was returned this week and Prisayana was found unfit to stand trial.
While the specifics are confidential, a defense attorney will often request an evaluation, citing a bona fide doubt as to whether a defendant can assist in the defense.
A message left for Assistant Kane County Public Defender Christopher Sparks, who represents Prisayana, was not immediately returned Friday.
According to a Kane County sheriff's report, witnesses saw Prisayana holding a gas can outside the home shortly before it caught fire.
Neighbors detained Prisayana until authorities arrived. He also was armed with a large meat cleaver knife; no injuries were reported, according to the sheriff's office.
A woman told police Prisayana screamed at her in a foreign language, pointed at her and made a throat-slashing gesture toward her.
If convicted of the most severe charge of arson, Prisayana faces up to 15 years in prison.
He is next due in court Jan. 20 and a Laotian interpreter has been ordered to attend future court proceedings.