Leland man charged with setting his own house on fire

A Leland man charged with setting fire to his own house was granted pre-trial release, provided he can furnish pre-trial services with a place to stay.

Gregory D. Wormley, 45, of Leland appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court and was charged with arson, a Class 2 felony carrying a possible prison sentence of three to seven years.

According to open-court statements, Wormley was charged after an investigation into a suspicious fire reported at 7:34 p.m. Thursday in the 200 block of South Main Street, Leland. Prosecutor Greg Sticka said investigators found gasoline containers inside the home and identified “significant burn patterns” suggesting arson.

Though it was Wormley’s home (the house is a total loss), he was developed as a suspect in part because a passerby noticed his truck parked outside the house at 6:50 p.m. and gone when she drove by 40 minutes later.

Wormley was later located at a Mendota motel smelling of gasoline. A K-9 officer alerted to accelerant on his belongings. Police also retrieved a Walmart receipt showing the purchase of gasoline containers, according to statements made in open court.

Sticka filed a motion to deny Wormley pre-trial release, citing the danger to the first responders who risked their lives fighting the fire as well as to the public.

Public Defender Ryan Hamer, who’s been assigned to the case, termed Wormley low-risk (a score of 1 on a 14-point assessment) with a nominal criminal history including a distant DUI, for which he received court supervision.

“The nature and character of Mr. Wormley is he’s not a danger to society,” Hamer said.

Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. declined to detain Wormley until trial and released him into home confinement, but Wormley will stay in custody until he furnishes pre-trial services with a documented place to stay, no longer having a place of his own.

His next court date is Aug. 13.