A Texas man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for setting fire to an Oswego apartment building in 2016 as part of a plea deal with Kendall County prosecutors.
Vincent N. Hobbs, 54, of the 1800 block of Calypso Drive, Dallas, pleaded guilty to residential arson Wednesday, agreeing to a sentence of seven years in state prison, according to prosecutors.
He was given credit for 316 days already in custody and must pay restitution, according to Kendall County Circuit Court records. Prosecutors said once Hobbs is released from prison, he must serve two years of mandatory supervised release.
Hobbs had been in a “destructive relationship” with a resident of the apartment he destroyed, according to a news release from Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis.
“Often these crimes, due to the destructive nature of the fire, remain unsolved,” Weis said. “Thanks to the cooperation of the victim and the efforts of the investigators involved, Hobbs was able to be charged, convicted, and sentenced for this serious offense.”
Kendall County Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Dore prosecuted the case, while Hobbs was represented by attorney Courtney Transier.
Hobbs started the fire inside an apartment building on the first block of South Main Street in Oswego on Nov. 27, 2016, prosecutors said.
Firefighters had the flames under control within 20 minutes and contained damage to the apartment where the fire started, officials previously said. At the time, Oswego Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Josh Walters said the fire caused $15,000 in damage to the structure and $50,000 to the apartment’s contents, the Beacon-News reported. The apartment was uninhabitable, displacing two people, according to the fire protection district.
Oswego police officers noted black smoke “billowing out of window seams,” with heavy smoke preventing them from seeing through the windows, according to the news release. Firefighters with the Oswego Fire Protection District said they saw aerosol cans on the stove, with its burners set to “ignite.” They could hear the igniters clicking, according to the news release.
Once firefighters had the flames suppressed, they noticed clothing piled on the floor in the middle of the living room had been set on fire, which spread to furniture, prosecutors said in the news release.
Oswego fire investigators and the Illinois Fire Marshal’s Office determined the nature of the fire was incendiary, authorities said.
Witnesses including the resident targeted said Hobbs was the last person in the apartment, and a few weeks before the fire, he’d sent a threatening text message to the resident, who thought the message meant Hobbs was going to start a fire at the apartment, prosecutors said. A photo of a lit cigarette lighter was attached to the message, according to prosecutors.
Hobbs was charged with residential arson, a class 1 felony, in March 2017. Authorities said he has been in custody since his arrest.
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