Man charged with setting house on fire after Thanksgiving family argument

A 21-year-old Beach Park man is accused of setting his house on fire on Thanksgiving night after his family told him that he was going to be kicked out of the home, authorities said.

Erik J. Crump is charged with aggravated arson and residential arson — both felonies.

Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday to a verbal domestic dispute at a home on North Lone Oak Road in Beach Park, authorities said.

Family members were upset with Crump, who was arguing with others in the home, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Deputies arrived and managed to de-escalate the situation. Crump also agreed to keep to himself for the rest of the night.

However, at about 8:40 p.m., deputies responded to the same home for reports of a fire. Arriving firefighters reported seeing a man, matching Crump’s description, armed with a knife, standing on the side of the roadway about a block from the home, authorities said. The man then fled.

Sheriff’s deputies set up a perimeter, and a sheriff’s canine team tracked the man’s scent to a dead-end in the roadway, indicating he left the area in a vehicle. Sheriff’s deputies were able to track him to a storage facility in Beach Park, where Crump was taken into custody without incident.

Sheriff’s detectives determined that after the earlier argument, Crump was informed by his family that he was going to be kicked out. Crump left the home but returned a short time later and went to his bedroom, near the garage, before leaving again. Moments later, the family saw smoke filling the home.

Detectives concluded that Crump used an accelerant to set his room on fire before fleeing the house again, according to the sheriff’s office.

The home was left with major damage. There were no reported injuries.