Men set fire to $3K worth of furniture at Olympia Fields golf club: prosecutors

Two men set fire to thousands of dollars worth of furniture this week at the south suburban Olympia Fields Country Club, according to Cook County prosecutors.

One of the men, 25-year-old Lincoln Park resident Jacob A. Bourassa, is a member of the club and invited his friend, 26-year-old Kurt S. Altrichter, to join him in renting a room, prosecutors said at a joint court hearing Saturday.

The pair spent its time playing golf, drinking and eating before going to an outdoor fire pit at the end of the day, prosecutors said.

At the pit, the two men started to throw wicker furniture into the fire, prosecutors said. By the time they were done, Bourassa and Altrichter had burned $3,311.15 worth of furniture, court records show.

Club officials called Olympia Fields police, who arrested Bourassa and Altrichter and charged them with felony counts of arson, court records show.

The two men had graduated together from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Altrichter still lives, a public defender said. Bourassa earned a degree in finance, and Altrichter, who is currently enlisted in the National Guard, graduated with an economics degree.

Bail was set at $5,000 for both men, and Bourassa is allowed to travel to his home in Minnesota as long as he appears at his court dates.