JEFFERSON COUNTY — A Jefferson County jury was to be seated Tuesday in the residential arson case against a 36-year-old Mt. Vernon man.

Perice Ladd is accused of residential arson in connection with a suspicious fire in October 2018 at a home in the 1300 block of South 26th in Mt. Vernon.

Ladd is charged with Class 1 felony residential arson, which is punishable by between 4 and 15 years in prison if convicted.

Ladd is accused along with 26-year-old Equinton Wilks for allegedly setting the fire. Both men are being held in the Jefferson County Jail.

No one was at the home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The fire was determined to be suspicious in nature.

Investigators from the Mt Vernon Police Department Detective Division, Mt Vernon Fire Department and State of Illinois Fire Marshall’s Office responded to investigate.