Man accused of setting fire to Round Lake home facing arson charges

ROUND LAKE, Ill. (WGN) — A northwest suburban man is facing felony charges after authorities say he intentionally set fire to a home in unincorporated Round Lake on Monday afternoon.

Robert Neumann, a 43-year-old Cary resident, has been charged with one felony count of aggravated arson and one felony count of residential arson, officials from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.

According to officials, deputies were first called to the scene around 2:30 p.m. in the 35300 block of North Summitt Place in unincorporated Round Lake, following a report of a structure fire in the area.

By the time deputies arrived on the scene, they found a home fully engulfed in flames. Fire crews pulled in shortly after deputies and began attacking the flames.

While working the scene, deputies learned that a 911 caller had informed the dispatcher that they had seen someone leaving the home with a can of gasoline just before it erupted in flames.

Dispatchers relayed the suspect’s description to deputies on the scene, and authorities located Neumann, who matched the description, a short time later.

Additional investigation then indicated that Neumann, who had been renting the space above a detached garage on the property, allegedly poured gasoline at the rear of the home and set it on fire.

Authorities said the motive for the alleged incident is unclear, but added that Neumann had not been allowed inside the home that caught fire, and was only allowed access to the garage.

After obtaining a search warrant for the attached garage property, detectives allegedly recovered a nearly empty can of gasoline.

While nobody was inside the home at the time it caught fire, two firefighters who responded to the scene suffered injuries while battling the blaze.

Neumann is currently being held at the Lake County Jail pending an initial court hearing on Tuesday morning.

It remains unclear what led to the incident.