Sandra Reinhart hasn’t slept well since the night her town house caught fire in Plainfield’s Arbor Creek subdivision in January.
The fire, which was set inside of a car parked in her garage, was one of three that night started in vehicles in the quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of the suburb.
Two other cars had been damaged by similar fires weeks earlier, touching off unease among Arbor Creek residents. On Monday, they are resting easier, as police announced the arrest of a juvenile who allegedly confessed to all five fires.
It’s bittersweet news for Reinhart, who said she lost her car, the home she had lived in for eight years, most of her possessions and her peace of mind. She moved out to a neighboring town, and even there she still checks to see that her garage door is locked several times a night.
“That is such a relief,” Reinhart said. “You don’t know what to feel. You don’t feel anger, because the person (who set the fires) is sick. I’m sorry to hear that it’s a juvenile, but I hope they get help.”
The unidentified juvenile was taken Monday to the River Valley Juvenile Justice Center on charges including five counts of arson, three counts of burglary to a motor vehicle and two counts of criminal damage to property.
The fires, the first of which was set at Christmas, targeted cars and homes in the 16700 block of Hazelwood Drive.
The night of Jan. 8, the juvenile is alleged to have set the fire in Reinhart’s car, and the blaze spread to the living space upstairs.
Reinhart said she and one of her sons were sleeping when a neighbor’s friend spotted flames inside the garage and pounded on their door.
“If that young man hadn’t been leaving when he did, things could have turned out much differently,” Reinhart said.
The night Reinhart’s car and home burned, the juvenile also allegedly set ablaze two other cars parked on the street on the same block, police said.
The first fire was set in a truck parked in a driveway Christmas Eve or early Christmas morning. Another car was set on fire New Year’s Day, but most residents didn’t connect the crimes.
The string of fires, which set residents on edge, prompted the formation of the subdivision’s first neighborhood watch.
Residents in the fall had noted several acts of petty vandalism, including slashed tires on cars. Several residents said in January they assumed the crimes were committed by kids, noting that most of the incidents occurred on weekends or school holidays.
Residents walked the streets and several patrolled in their cars.
A news release from the Plainfield Police Department announcing the arrest says police interviewed the juvenile, which led to “a full confession not only to the arson investigation but also several other open cases.”
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Police plan to hold a news conference to discuss the charges Tuesday.
“I hope maybe I will sleep a little better tonight,” Reinhart said.