2nd teen convicted in Elgin arson

A second Kane County teenager has been convicted of setting a devastating house fire on Elgin's west side in March.

Jessica A. Fliginger, 18, of the 200 block of North Green Street, Carpentersville, pleaded guilty to reckless property damage Wednesday in exchange for two years probation and 42 days in jail, court records show.

Fliginger was one of three 18-year-olds arrested after the March 23 fire on the 500 block of Ashland Avenue. Co-defendant Anthony Huff of Carpentersville also took a plea deal and was sentenced last month to eight years in prison for residential arson, according to court records.

Police have said the fire was set two days after officers were called to the house to break up a fight, and the incidents probably were related.

A flammable liquid was used to start the intense fire, which spread from the basement to the attic of the two-story house, leaving it uninhabitable.

According to the charges, Fliginger, Huff and a third co-defendant, Salvatore Riso of East Dundee, knew people were in the house when they set the fire, though no one was hurt. About two dozen firefighters spent hours battling the blaze in high winds and rescued five pets.

Riso, whose next court date is Oct. 16, remains in the Kane County jail on $120,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated arson, residential arson and aggravated criminal damage to property.