A judge denied pre-trial release for two suspects, who are both on probation in a hate crime case, for allegedly lighting fires that engulfed two theaters and the lobby of the former Regal Cinema in Round Lake Beach.
Anthony P. Shields, 20, of Lake Villa, and David M. Dolan, 19, of Lake Villa, were both charged with one count of arson, a Class 2 felony.
The Round Lake Beach Police Department responded at 8:24 p.m. Saturday to the former Regal Cinema, 550 East Rollins Road in Round Lake Beach.
A passerby reported seeing an orange glow inside the former movie theater, Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Jay VandeBerg said.
Police officers arrived and discovered light smoke inside the building.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said two theaters of the vacant building were engulfed in flames and the lobby was destroyed. Damage was estimated to be $100,000 “at the very least.”
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the second alarm level, which brought a total of around 20 fire departments to the scene.
Firefighters pulled hose lines into the building and brought the fire under control in around 35 minutes, VandeBerg said.
Firefighters searched the building multiple times and did not locate anyone. No one was injured.
The MABAS Division 4 Fire Investigator Task Force – which consists of investigators from numerous area fire departments – along with the Round Lake Beach Police Department and Illinois State Fire Marshal, were called to investigate the incident, VandeBerg said.
Water used to extinguish the blaze also caused extensive damage to the building.
Theis said a juvenile commented online about meeting the people who started the fire.
The juvenile reported Shields and Dolan bragged about setting the fire afterward while at a McDonald’s.
Shields and Dolan were interviewed by police and said they saw a broken rear door to the building.
They told police they entered the building and Dolan started a fire in one of the theaters by lighting a chair on fire with Shields’ lighter, Theis said.
The fire grew and Dolan tried putting it out but it became too big and he burned his hands, according to Theis.
Dolan said he also helped Shields start a fire in the lobby, Theis said. Shields told officers he stacked papers with a tarp over them and lit the papers on fire.
Fire investigators found an accelerant in the building, which was closed in February 2023 and has remained vacant since.
Theis called both suspects unstable and sought their detainment pending trial.
Round Lake Beach police officials said physical evidence of their role in the fire was obtained at the suspects’ residences on Sunday.
Shields and Dolan were the same suspects who were arrested for committing a hate crime after they spray-painted hate speech at businesses in Round Lake Beach in August.
Investigators determined several businesses in the 2000 block of Route 83 were spray painted with hate speech, including racial slurs and swastikas, as well as references to killing the police.
The incident prompted Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart to issue a statement that said the state’s attorney’s office would “thoroughly investigate and aggressively prosecute acts of hate to the fullest extent of the law.”
In January, Dolan and Shields entered into negotiated plea deals with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage to property in exchange for their more than a dozen hate crime charges being dismissed.
The two were sentenced to 30 months of probation and 300 hours of public service. They were also ordered to not consume illegal drugs and alcohol.
Less than two months later, Dolan was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in late February for a misdemeanor theft offense.
Court records show Dolan is the respondent in three active and separate orders of protection cases.
Dolan was also convicted as a juvenile of criminal sexual abuse and was sentenced to court supervision.
Detention hearings were held Tuesday afternoon for Dolan and Shields following their latest arrests after prosecutors filed petitions to detain them.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted the petitions and remanded both to the Lake County Jail pending trial.