Background: News footage of the 2022 car crash that involved convicted arsonist Connor C. Kirkpatrick (WGN). Inset: Connor C. Kirkpatrick”s 2022 mug shot (McHenry County Sheriff’s Office).
An Illinois man who was already facing charges over a devastating car crash was convicted of arson in a separate case, committed while he was out on bond.
Connor C. Kirkpatrick, 30, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for residential arson on Thursday, according to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Kirkpatrick tried to burn down his father’s house on May 20, 2023, and admitted to starting the fire himself after initially telling sheriff’s deputies that he “woke up to a fire in the home.” No one else was in the home at the time and no one was injured.
A jury found Kirkpatrick guilty in March.
Present for his sentencing hearing was someone connected to a different case involving the defendant – and he was not there to wish him well.
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Kirkpatrick committed the arson while he was out on bond for aggravated reckless driving causing bodily harm and other charges stemming from a car crash almost a year earlier.
According to prosecutors, on July 27, 2022, Kirkpatrick was behind the wheel of a Subaru SUV when he floored the gas pedal, reaching a speed of 100 mph in a residential neighborhood.
Prosecutors said Kirkpatrick was “naked and suicidal” at the time, according to coverage of the case by Shaw Local. The SUV ultimately crashed into the home of 67-year-old Angelo Pleotis, a retired grandfather who had just agreed to walk his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Pleotis was just getting out of the shower when Kirkpatrick’s vehicle slammed into him, sending him through the bathroom wall of his home.
Pleotis was paralyzed from the waist down, his spine broken. He was unable to attend his daughter’s wedding.
Kirkpatrick was also seriously injured in the crash. He surrendered to police that October.
At his arson trial, Kirkpatrick testified that he set his father’s house on fire the following May because he was, once again, trying to end his life. His defense attorneys highlighted a history of untreated mental illness during trial. Prosecutors attempted to use the car crash case to push for a harsher sentence for Kirkpatrick, saying that while he could be considered mentally ill, he needed to be incarcerated for “the safety of the public.”
Ultimately, Judge Tiffany Davis decided on the middle ground of 10 years – more than the four years requested by the defense, less than the 15 years requested by the prosecution. Kirkpatrick will get credit for time served.
In agreement with Pleotis and his family, the charges in the car crash case were dropped; if convicted, Kirkpatrick would have served those sentences concurrently.
Pleotis and his family were present at the sentencing. The paralyzed retiree addressed the convicted man from his motorized wheelchair. He said: “Enjoy prison life. I’m sure you’ll meet some nice friends there.”
