'Smash It, Burn It, Kill Them,' Joliet Man Tried Burning Down House In Cathedral Area: Prosecutors

JOLIET, IL — A 36-year-old Joliet man from the Cathedral Area now facing three charges of attempted arson and two charges of criminal property damage vows to return to 714 Wilcox Street to "smash it, burn it, kill them," according to the Will County State's Attorney's Office petition to deny pretrial release for Kevin "Bubba" Roman.

This week, Joliet police rushed to the 700 block of North Wilcox Street for a man trying to light the home on fire. A person from the neighborhood told the officers that a man he knows as Bubba was pouring lighter fluid on an item, and he told Bubba not to light the item on fire, according to court records.

As the man walked away, prosecutors say he heard glass break and saw something on fire next to the north side of the house. When Joliet police arrived at the emergency, the item was still smoldering near the house, and there was a lot of ash on the southeast corner of the home, according to documents.

Prosecutors said video surveillance showed Roman placing a large cardboard box next to the house near the wooden porch. Meanwhile, the resident identified Bubba as Kevin Roman, court files show.

He advised the Joliet police that Kevin broke the front window out of the home the previous night and that Kevin "was upset because their aunt ... would not allow Roman to live at the residence," prosecutors informed Judge Chrystel Gavlin.

The aunt told Joliet police she had a video of Kevin Roman lighting the cardboard box on fire near the back patio, prosecutors said. After being taken into custody, officials said Kevin Roman admitted to breaking the windows the previous night, March 29, and again on March 30, using a rock and a brick.

Roman also told Joliet police he knew two people were home and he "did intend to set the residence on fire by using lighter fluid he purchased from Dollar General," prosecutors revealed. "He stated after purchasing the lighter fluid, he then grabbed cardboard from his mother's residence and advised that he already had a lighter on him. He said he doused the home's gas meter in lighter fluid to cause the house to catch fire and lit the cardboard box on fire near the rear porch," the court files indicate. "When asked his plan if the lighter fluid caught fire, Kevin responded, 'burn down the house with the people in it,'" prosecutors told Judge Gavlin.

Kevin Roman also admitted knowing people were inside as he tried to start the fire. "Roman also stated he intends to light the home on fire and kill everyone inside when he is released from custody," the Will County State's Attorney's Office said. "When asked what he was going to do if he was able to go back, Kevin stated, 'smash it, burn it, kill them.'"

At his Will County Jail booking, Roman proclaimed, "I will light anyone on fire, if they f*** with me like those people do,'" prosecutors concluded.

In the end, Judge Gavlin ruled in favor of keeping Kevin "Bubba" Roman detained under the dangerousness standard of the SAFE-T-Act. He was also kept in the county jail back in 2020 and 2017.