Man who set CPD vehicle on fire in 2020 gets 3 years probation
CHICAGO - A man who set a Chicago police car on fire in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd last year has been given three years of probation.
Jacob Fagundo, 23, was also ordered to repay Chicago more than $50,000 for the vehicle on Thursday.
However, prosecutors hoped he would have gotten some prison time.
Originally charged in state court, Fagundo pleaded guilty in April after federal charges were filed against him in late March.
As part of the plea, the Cook County state's attorney office says it dropped state charges against him.
Fagundo admitted to shattering the window of an unoccupied police car with others May 30 in a garage at 30 E. Kinzie St., before throwing a firework inside, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois.
The car went up in flames after the firework went off and had to be extinguished by firefighters, prosecutors said.
Fagundo also admitted to buying the fireworks, lighter fluid and other materials a day earlier in preparation for the protests, prosecutors said.