Joliet Man Jailed For Alleged Plot To Blow Up East Side Catholic Charities Apartment House

A Joliet man wanted for allegedly plotting to blow up the east side apartment house where he had been living was apprehended and jailed Tuesday.

Denzil Lawrence, 38, was taken into custody on charges of possessing an explosive or incendiary device and criminal damage to property. Jail records list a current address for Lawrence in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Lawrence was living at the Catholic Charities-owned Siegmund Street apartment at the time of the June fire, police said. The Will County Sheriff’s Department obtained a warrant for his arrest the same day firefighters doused the blaze.

After the fire was extinguished, an arson investigator reportedly found a two-liter bottle of gasoline on the couch in Lawrence’s apartment.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Will County court, Lawrence “knowingly possessed (a) detonating device for use with an explosive compound or incendiary device, with the intent to … commit arson.”

The Cook County Bomb Squad was called in to search Lawrence’s home after the fire but found nothing, police said.

A military veteran, Lawrence was said to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to police.