Waterman man charged with attempted murder after Elburn home filled with gas

ELBURN – A Waterman man facing attempted murder charges after investigators found he tampered with a gas line to a home, causing it to fill with gas.

Frank E. Ryan, 33, of the 300 block of North Cedar Street, Waterman, was also charged with reckless conduct, battery and criminal damage to property, according to a news release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. If convicted of the most serious charge, attempted murder, he could face 6 to 30 years in prison.

Ryan, who previously lived in Batavia, is currently being held in the Kane County jail on $200,000 bond, with 10 percent ($20,000) to apply for bail, according to a release from the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. If Ryan posts bail, he has been ordered to have no contact with the victims, no contact with a specified person who is known by Ryan and the victim and he is to surrender any firearms and a Firearm Owners Identification card, the release stated.

Kane County prosecutors allege that in the early morning hours on Jan. 19, Ryan rerouted a natural gas line by drilling a hole in the exposed gas line outside a home on Downing Street in Elburn, drilling a hole through the home’s exterior wall, connecting a tube to the gas line and then placing the other end of the tube through the hole and into the home’s interior, the release stated.

Ryan purchased the materials used to commit his offense the previous day, according to the release. Ryan also had covered a doorbell camera at the home with duct tape, the release stated.

No one was injured after the homeowner discovered the tube and called 911. Two people were inside the home at the time.

The Elburn Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the Waterman Police Department and the Aurora Police Department. Ryan’s next court date is set for Jan. 30.