Background: News video of the 2022 auto accident involving previously convicted arsonist Connor C. Kirkpatrick (WGN). Inset: Connor C. Kirkpatrick’s mug shot from 2022 (McHenry County Sheriff’s Office).
An Illinois resident, already facing legal trouble due to a serious car accident, was found guilty of arson in a different incident that took place while he was on bail.
Connor C. Kirkpatrick, aged 30, received a 10-year prison sentence on Thursday for committing residential arson, as reported by the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Kirkpatrick attempted to set his father’s home on fire on May 20, 2023. He confessed to igniting the blaze himself, despite initially telling deputies that he “awoke to a fire inside the house.” There were no injuries reported as no one else was present at the time of the incident.
A jury found Kirkpatrick guilty in March.
Present for his sentencing hearing was someone connected to a different case involving the defendant – and he was not there to wish him well.
The arson took place while Kirkpatrick was out on bond for previous charges, including aggravated reckless driving causing injury, linked to a car accident nearly a year prior.
Prosecutors stated that on July 27, 2022, Kirkpatrick was operating a Subaru SUV when he accelerated to 100 mph in a residential area.
Prosecutors said Kirkpatrick was “naked and suicidal” at the time, according to coverage of the case by Shaw Local. The SUV ultimately crashed into the home of 67-year-old Angelo Pleotis, a retired grandfather who had just agreed to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Pleotis was just getting out of the shower when Kirkpatrick’s vehicle slammed into him, sending him through the bathroom wall of his home.
Pleotis was paralyzed from the waist down, his spine broken. He was unable to attend his daughter’s wedding.
Kirkpatrick was also seriously injured in the crash. He surrendered to police that October.
At his arson trial, Kirkpatrick testified that he set his father’s house on fire the following May because he was, once again, trying to end his life. His defense attorneys highlighted a history of untreated mental illness during trial. Prosecutors attempted to use the car crash case to push for a harsher sentence for Kirkpatrick, saying that while he could be considered mentally ill, he needed to be incarcerated for “the safety of the public.”
Ultimately, Judge Tiffany Davis decided on the middle ground of 10 years – more than the four years requested by the defense, less than the 15 years requested by the prosecution. Kirkpatrick will get credit for time served.
In agreement with Pleotis and his family, the charges in the car crash case were dropped; if convicted, Kirkpatrick would have served those sentences concurrently.
Pleotis and his family were present at the sentencing. The paralyzed retiree addressed the convicted man from his motorized wheelchair. He said: “Enjoy prison life. I’m sure you’ll meet some nice friends there.”
