An East Moline man is behind bars after police say he went into an abandoned home and lit a fire in a fireplace.
The East Moline Police and Fire Departments responded to the 900 block of 23rd Avenue last night at about 6:11 p.m. for a report of a structure fire. Officers arrived and reported flames and smoke coming from the top of the residence. Neighbors reported seeing two people running from the home into a nearby ravine. Firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported, and no other buildings were damaged. The residence was abandoned at the time of the fire.
East Moline police officers found the two people who were seen running from the home and discovered they were inside it at the time of the fire. Investigators interviewed them, as well as neighbors and discovered that the subjects, a man and a woman, went into the home and a fire was lit in the fireplace.
Oscar Sanchez, age 18 of East Moline, was the man at the residence and was arrested and taken to the Rock Island County Jail. He was later charged with arson, a class 2 felony, by the Rock Island State’s Attorney’s Office. His bond was set at $30,000.
The incident is still under investigation by the East Moline Police Department. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the East Moline Police Department Investigations Division at (309) 752-1557, CrimeStoppers at (309) 762-9500 or use the CrimeStoppers P3 app.
