‘Numerous’ Informants Gave Up Teen Who Set Prison On Fire: Cops

JOLIET, IL — “Numerous” informants told on a teen who set fire to the old Joliet prison on Collins Street, police said, leading to the youth’s arrest Tuesday afternoon.

The police posted a photo on Facebook of two teens they said were at the abandoned prison at the same time it caught fire Monday night and said they got quite a response.

“Joliet investigators received numerous Crimestoppers tips from our social media site identifying two individuals from an attempt to identify flier regarding the fire at the prison,” police said.

“Detectives located the juveniles and developed further information which led to the arrest of one of the juveniles for one count of arson,” police said.

The two teens were inside the prison together, police said, which itself is against the law. One of the teens allegedly used a lighter to set fire to papers. The small blaze spread and set the building on fire, police said.

The teen with the lighter was arrested and taken to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center. The other was not charged.

The arrested teen was scheduled to appear in juvenile court Wednesday morning.

Image via Joliet Fire Department