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SWANSEA, Ill. (KMOV) — Authorities in Swansea have charged two individuals with aggravated arson after allegedly setting fire to a residence with 11 people inside.
Police say on August 25, Alissa Spears, 18, and Deandre Jackson, 19, allegedly set fire to a home in the 1400 block of N. 2nd Street where multiple people, including children were inside. Of the children, four of them were under the age of four and one was a two-week old baby.
All eleven victims were able to make it out and no one was injured, according to police.
Detectives with the Swansea Police Department along with the Illinois State Fire Marshall were called to assist in the investigation. Not long after the incident, police located Jackson and Spears and took them into custody. Both resisted arrest, according to police.
The St. Clair County Attorney’s office charged both Jackson and Spears with Aggravated Arson and Resisting Arrest. Both bonds have been set at $500,000.
In a Facebook post from the Swansea Police, Chief Steve Johnson said:
“Eleven people could have been killed in this fire, including children and an infant. A neighbor called and saved all these people by alerting them to the fire. This was a total team effort of citizens saving lives and multiple entities working together.”
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