Couple accused of throwing ‘firebomb’ at Crystal Lake home charged with aggravated arson

Two people are accused of throwing a homemade “firebomb” at a residence in Crystal Lake that authorities allege was tied to a drug deal gone bad.

Jesse Mendez, 37, and Brittany Terrell, 32, each of Garden Prairie, are charged with aggravated arson, a Class X felony, as well as arson and criminal damage to property, according to criminal complaints in each case filed in McHenry County court.

The couple, detained in the county jail after making a first appearance Monday, are accused of throwing a bottle, with a T-shirt stuffed inside that was lit on fire using nail polish remover, at a residence in the 100 block of Main Street knowing a 62-year-old man was inside, according to the complaints and a detention order signed Monday by Judge Cynthia Lamb. The bottle was thrown through a glass window of a storm door for a porch, according to the complaint.

In detaining Terrell, Lamb said Terrell poses a threat to the safety of any person and the community. Terrell “threw a firebomb at someone’s home, on behalf of her husband [Mendez], at 1:45 a.m., with the intent to send a message,” Lamb wrote in the detention order.

Lamb said that Terrell “prepared a firebomb using nail polish remover and used the device to try and scare someone because they did not follow through on a drug deal, an illegal act in itself.”

She allegedly threw the firebomb, Lamb said, “to firebomb the home of another, which the defendant had reason to believe was not even [a] party to the drug transaction,” Lamb wrote.

In detaining Mendez, Lamb said he also is a threat. Lamb said the couple “drove to a home and attempted to set it on fire.” Lamb said that Terrell said she did it for Mendez “and threw the firebomb while [Mendez] was present.”

Mendez “knew what was happening and threatened earlier in a text message that the targeted house would be damaged. [Mendez] knew it was a residence and decided to start a fire at approximately 1:45 a.m. knowing someone was home. His intentions were clear – he did what he intended to do and what he threatened to do,” Lamb said.

If convicted on a Class X felony, they each could face up to 30 years in prison. Each was appointed an attorney from the McHenry County Public Defender’s Office. Each is due in court Friday.