Marseilles arson suspect uses balloons filled with gasoline to start fire, prosecutors say

The victim told police that he saw Jeffrey Peterson standing at the top of their basement stairs hurling what looked like water balloons. The balloons were filled not with water but with gasoline or another accelerant.

The incendiary devices set off a fire Thursday morning inside the Marseilles residence, causing what prosecutors termed “significant damage.” The victim, with help from police, was able to escape through a basement window.

Now, Peterson is charged with aggravated arson and faces up to 30 years in prison. He’ll stay in the La Salle County Jail for the time being.

Peterson, 45, of Marseilles made his first appearance Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court. There, prosecutors were ready to hold a detention hearing; but Peterson advised the judge that he wants to hire private counsel and address detention after consulting with a private lawyer.

Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. agreed and set a new detention hearing for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5.

In preparation for the now-postponed hearing, however, prosecutors spelled out the allegations against Peterson.

According to the verified petition for detention, the victim was in his basement bedroom when, shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday, he heard “a loud bang” and suspected an intruder breaking in.

Soon after, the smoke alarms went off, and the victim saw flames upstairs. It was then that he saw Peterson at the top of the stairs “throwing balloons filled with liquid down the stairs.”

After the victim was safely evacuated and the fire brought under control, a fire commander found “several separate ignition points” and several “soft plastic balls that appeared to have imploded,” although one was found intact and at least partially filled.

Meanwhile, police searched for Peterson and found him at an Ottawa motel. There, police picked up the odor of gas or other flammable liquid. Inside the room, they found a paper bag with matches, Scotch tape and tissues.

Prosecutors were prepared to argue against Peterson’s release in part because he’d been under a no-contact order issued around New Year’s Eve after a domestic violence charge. The resident at the house is the alleged victim in that case.

“The state would further note that the victim has stated that Jeffrey Peterson has threatened to kill him on two prior occasions since [he] became disabled and moved back in with his mother,” according to the state’s pleading, “and that his mother had removed Jeffrey from her will because of his actions.”

Peterson was, in fact, taken to jail Thursday on preliminary charges including aggravated arson but also attempted murder. On Friday, the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office indicated that the attempted murder charge still is under review.