Two Men Arrested After SUV Fire On Near West Side: Police

AURORA, IL — Two men are facing arson charges after police said they set a vehicle on fire early Monday morning on the city’s near west side. Mario Palacios, 18, of Aurora, and Xavier Bijarro, 20, of North Aurora, were arrested around 1:30 a.m. Monday, minutes after a homeowner in the 400 block of Michigan Avenue reported her SUV was on fire, according to police.

Police and firefighters were called to that area around 1:15 a.m. and quickly put out the fire, according to Paris Lewbel, a spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department. Less than 10 minutes after receiving the 911 call, an investigator with the department’s Special Operations Group pulled over Palacios and Bijarro in a vehicle that smelled like gasoline, police said.

Palacios and Bijarro were linked to the SUV fire through surveillance footage near the Michigan Avenue home, according to police. Both were charged with a single felony count of arson.

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