Arsonist didn't escape police, but does evade prison

A 22-year-old Round Lake Beach man couldn't escape the law when he torched a gazebo behind a Crystal Lake home to divert the police officers chasing him.

Derrick Coleman, however, did escape a potentially long prison stay when a McHenry County judge decided Wednesday to give him two years probation and 171 days of time served in the county jail for his actions.

Coleman, of the 0-100 block of Beachview Drive, had been facing up to seven years in prison since pleading guilty to arson in connection with a Nov. 14, 2008 incident that began when a homeowner called police about 2:45 a.m. to report two men breaking into vehicles near Crystal Lake South High School.

When officers arrived, the men - later identified as Coleman and Dean F. Homan, 20, of Lake Villa - ran away, with police and a canine unit in pursuit. A short time later, police said, the suspects set fire to a gazebo behind a home in the 1100 block of Amberwood Drive as a diversion.

The diversion worked, but only temporarily. The two men evaded police that early morning, but investigators tracked them down using the registration of a vehicle left near the scene that did not belong there.

County prosecutors had been seeking a three-year prison term, saying Coleman's actions endangered nearby homes and the firefighters who had to extinguish the blaze.

Coleman apologized and asked for second chance.

"I'd like to have an opportunity to change," he said. "I don't want to spend my life in and out of jail."

Judge Sharon Prather granted that second chance, noting that Coleman had almost no prior criminal record before the incident and took responsibility for his actions. Besides probation and the 171 days in jail, Prather ordered Coleman to pay a $500 fine, pay $336 to Crystal Lake fire rescue, $500 to the gazebo's owner and perform 50 hours community service.

Homan is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 29 for a pretrial status hearing on charges of arson and burglary.