Man charged with setting fire to ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Mount Prospect

A northwest suburban man is facing a felony charge after prosecutors say he angrily set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Mount Prospect.

Cook County Associate Judge Sophia Atcherson denied bail on Saturday for 23-year-old Luis Ixtlapale-Mirto, who was charged with one count of aggravated arson.

On Friday, Ixtlapale-Mirto went to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in the 1100 block of Boxwood Drive in Mount Prospect, where she lives with their two children and her mom and sister, according to Cook County prosecutors. He was upset that she had broken up with him, especially because it meant he couldn’t see their children as often as he wanted.

After he picked up the children, ages 1 and 3, from their mother’s home, Ixtlapale-Mirto dropped them off at a babysitter before he returned to the apartment and used a lighter to set fire to two closets, prosecutors said.

No one in the apartment was injured, but four people in neighboring apartments were hurt, prosecutors said. Those injured included a woman and her 2-year-old grandson, and another woman and her 3-year-old daughter, prosecutors said.

The ex-girlfriend’s belongings in both closets were completely burned, and the two next-door apartments sustained heavy water damage, prosecutors said.

Ixtlapale-Mirto, who lives in Des Plaines with his parents, is being held at Cook County Jail.

His next court date was scheduled for June 14, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.