Surveillance video played a key role in the rapid arrest of the man who was responsible for setting a fire in which the Chicago Fire Department capts. David Meyer was killed this week, the prosecutors said on Saturday. Charles Green, 44, was ordered to hold the trial by Judge Antara Rivera during an afternoon hearing in the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Meyer and his fellow firefighters almost had a garage fire in the 1200 block of North Pine in the beginning of Wednesday in the 1200 block of North Pine extinguished when the structure collapsed on top of the 30-year-old veteran, who killed him, said officials.
Agents from the Federal Bureau or Alcohol, Tobacco, firearms and explosives quickly determined that a fire was deliberately put in a garbage can, and the flames spread to the structure, officials said. The police investigators quickly started working on tracing the arsonist.
During the appearance of Green, the public prosecutors said that the video showed him that he left his west side home and walked about 12 blocks to the garage that would soon be set on fire. In one piece of images, Green ran from the camera at the garage and returned to view about 38 seconds later while smoke and the light of flames became visible, according to the accusations.
Researchers found more images of a gas station near the crime scene about eight minutes after the fire started. When the police later arrested Green on the same day, they are said to have found pieces of burned paper, lighter liquid and lighters at his home. His clothing also tested positively on accelerators, said prosecutors.
Judicial data shows that Green was arrested in March for theft of crimes and charges in Elmwood Park. He was released from the police station with instructions to appear in court on March 28, but he did not show up and a judge issued an order for his arrest, according to the court reports. The order was still active when he reportedly put the fire.
Officials said he has been arrested dozens of times since the end of the 1990s. Green is accused of murder, murder while committing a forced crime and worsened arson that a firefighter injures.
Meyer is the second firefighter in Chicago who is killed while he fired against the arson in about a year. Firefighter Jermaine Pelt died of carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke and sootinhalation after debris and dresser fell on him and his breathing mask struck, while against the fire in the 12000 block of South Wallace on April 4, 2023, he would have turned 59 the next day.
Public Prosecutors accused three men of deliberately setting the fire, reportedly in an insurance schedule. But 72 days later the State dropped the indictment against one of those men after his lawyers had convinced prosecutors that they had sued an innocent man.
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