Sheriff: Man in custody after attempting to set deputies on fire

A 38-year-old Waukegan man has been placed in a mental health facility Tuesday night after attempting to set sheriff's deputies on fire within his apartment, according to a news release from the Lake County sheriff's office.

In an effort to complete a mental health writ, the deputies attempted to enter the single-family style residence, subdivided into apartments, on the 0-100 block of Philippa Avenue just after 9:40 a.m. Trying to enter the foyer, they found the front door was barricaded. The homeowner gave deputies permission to force entry. Once inside, the man immediately became verbally noncompliant and attempted to set the deputies on fire by spraying lighter fluid through a flame from a lighter, the news release said.

Blocking the attack with a fire shield, the deputies were able to retreat from the scene and extinguish the small fire. They then attempted to have him surrender peacefully, which proved unsuccessful for hours.

Members of the Sheriff's Tactical Response Team responded and formulated a plan to safely take the man into custody. Introducing pepper-based dispersion and firing bean bag rounds at the man, their attempts remained unsuccessful until 4:20 p.m.

Successfully breaching the man's second-floor apartment, tactical response team crews were able to take the man into custody without injury to him or them shortly afterward.

Upon the man's apprehension, Sheriff John Idleburg said, "This was an extremely volatile and tense situation. Our staff was interacting with an unstable man who was clearly in mental distress, and posed a risk to himself and others. I could not be prouder of our staff who took their time and worked together to take this man into custody without injury to him or anyone else. This is precisely what they train for and that training paid off today."