Ford Heights Woman Accused Of Setting Fire In Indiana Meijer

FORD HEIGHTS, IL — A Ford Heights woman was charged Wednesday in connection with multiple fires set inside an Indiana Meijer last month, police said.

Officials told Patch Heather Weeden, 46, set the fires to distract workers from her and another south suburban man shoplifting multiple items from the store. Jerry Pierson, 35, was charged in January but told officials he barely knew Weeden when she approached him about the theft.

According to officials, Pierson helped to set three small fires in order to cover for himself and Weeden while they stole a TV, speaker set and vacuum from a Meijer store on Jan. 10.

According to court documents, Weeden told an employee that a man was setting fires in the other part of the Meijer and, when the employee ran off after the fires, put a Vizio TV and sound bar in her cart and left the store.

Pierson was then seen stealing the vacuum and later loading the stolen items into a car with Weeden, court records stated. Security footage from the store allowed police to identify Weeden who led them to Pierson.

In total, three fires were set inside the store. Investigators found butane and fertilizer near the largest fire. Toys and other flammable merchandise were set on fire in other corners of the store.
Police also charged the pair in connection to a fire inside a Lansing Walmart on Jan. 7.

Weeden is facing charges of aggravated arson and retail theft in Cook County after the Lansing fire where her bond was set at $85,000. While officials said she is only accused of stealing $500 in merchandise, she caused $4.5 million in damages to the large retail chain.

In 1998, Weeden was convicted of murder and vehicular carjacking in Madison County. She was released from parole in 2020, according to police.