Cops Charge New Lenox Man With Setting House on Fire, Trashing Neighborhood

While Schoolgate Road homeowners spent Saturday repainting garage doors, scraping vulgarity off windows and chatting about the March 15 rash of neighborhood vandalism and arson, New Lenox police had already arrested a 17-year, gang-affiliated man who will be charged as an adult for his involvement.

Christian Velazquez, 17, of the 700 block of Lake Road, was booked into Will County Jail about 1 p.m. Saturday and charged with two counts of arson, residential burglary and criminal damage to property—all felonies, according to New Lenox Deputy Police Chief Robert Pawlicz. No bond information was available.

All total 11 complaints were filed in connection with a string of property damage complaints that ranged from setting a deck on fire, sparking a blaze in a car, burglary and a lot of vandalism with spray painting, he said. The vandalism was spread among homes in the 500-700 blocks of Schoolgate Road, the 800 block of Cooper Road and the 300 block of Illinois Highway.   

The amount of damage left after the early Friday escapade is not known at this time, Pawlicz said.

According to New Lenox Police Sgt. Louis Alessandrin, Velazquez spray-painted the symbols for Gangster Two Six Nation on some of the homes and a slew of vulgarity and pornographic symbols on others.  Some vehicles were spray-painted as well.

Mike and Kim Cales, residents of the 600 block of Schoolgate Road, were the victims in the deck fire. Sitting around the dining room table Saturday, the two shared with Patch details about the incident that could have been more serious had their 12-year-old daughter not seen the flames within a matter of minutes. Megan Cales got up for school shortly after 6 a.m. and spotted the flames. Megan's father had left for work, but her mom was home.

Kim said, "I normally go jogging at that time, but I didn't" (on Friday.) She immediately called 911. New Lenox Fire Protection District reported that the blaze was doused in about 15 minutes.

It was the cabinet stuffed with accelerants—citronella candles and outside sprays—that were set on fire, whipping up flames that blackened the vinyl siding, said Mike.

Homeowner hides filthy language from schoolchildren

Bill McGuire, of the 700 block of Schoolgate Road, said he noticed the vandalism when he was pulling out of the driveway. As the garage door came down, he spotted the string of vulgar words sprayed in gray paint across the door. It was on the service door, too.

The language was so offensive, said Linda McGuire, that she kept the garage door open while the morning school buses headed for nearby Bentley School drove past. She didn't want the kids to see that. The words were largely painted over or cleaned off before school got out.

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