Sheriff: Fired Fox Lake man committed arson

A Fox Lake man fired from his job Tuesday returned to the workplace late at night and began setting fire to items in the business' parking lot, including a motorcycle, authorities said.

Jonathan V. Tracy, 31, of the 0-100 block of Maude Avenue, faces a charge of arson stemming from the blazes set outside the automotive business on the 25500 block of Route 173 near Antioch, Lake County sheriff's police said Wednesday.

Tracy was arrested at the scene shortly before midnight, when deputies responded to a 911 call from a passerby who spotted flames in the parking lot. The caller reported that a person appeared to be intentionally starting fires on the property, sheriff's police said.

Deputies arrived to find a motorcycle engulfed in flames and Tracy nearby, appearing irate and shouting that he wanted to speak with his former boss, according to the sheriff's office.

The deputies determined Tracy set fire to items in the parking lot in an attempt to lure his former boss to the scene, because he wanted further explanation as to why he was fired, authorities say. He was using gasoline and oil in an attempt to spread the fire, which was put out by Antioch Fire Protection District firefighters, sheriff's police said.

Tracy faces a maximum three to seven years in prison if found guilty of felony arson.