A man who pleaded guilty to committing arson at a Crystal Lake residence while knowing that someone was home at the time has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Jesse Mendez, 37, of Garden Prairie in Boone County, is required to serve half his prison time followed by one year of mandatory supervised release. He is receiving credit for 150 days in the county jail since his arrest in May, according to the judgment order signed by Judge Mark Gerhardt in McHenry County court.

Mendez and his wife, Brittany Terrell, 33, were accused of throwing a homemade “firebomb” into a home knowing that it was occupied by a 62-year-old man. The firebomb was fashioned out of a bottle stuffed with a T-shirt and was lit using nail polish remover, authorities said at the couple’s initial court appearance, where they were detained pretrial. Authorities said the incident was tied to a drug deal gone bad.

The pair were charged with aggravated arson, a Class X felony, as well as residential arson and criminal damage to property, according to criminal complaints and indictments in each case filed in McHenry County court.

Mendez pleaded to a lesser Class 1 felony, carrying a shorter prison term than the Class X felony, records show.

In detaining Terrell in the county jail, Judge Cynthia Lamb wrote in a detention order that 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 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.”

In detaining Mendez, Lamb said the couple “drove to a home and attempted to set it on fire.” Lamb said that Terrell 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 ... knowing someone was home. His intentions were clear – he did what he intended to do and what he threatened to do,” Lamb said.

Terrell’s case is still pending. Records indicate plea negotiations are underway in that case, and she is due to appear in court Tuesday.