Teen charged with arson after fire destroyed mayor’s house

ALORTON, Ill. – A 19-year-old man has been charged with arson after a fire destroyed the home of the mayor of the southern Illinois community of Alorton.

The Belleville News Democrat reports the charge was filed Thursday against Yadarius A. Crawford. A warrant says Crawford knowingly damaged the single-family residence on Dec. 3, aware that Mayor JoAnn Reed was inside.

Reed fled from the building with only the night clothing she was wearing. She said her daughter and granddaughter had left about an hour before the fire. It was the third fire to strike a residence where Reed has lived in the village southeast of St. Louis. There have been no arrests in the previous fires.

It wasn’t clear whether Reed and Crawford know each other.

Crawford was being held on a $250,000 bond.

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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com