CHICAGO (WLS) — The man accused of setting the West Side fire that killed Chicago Fire Department Captain David Meyer appeared before a judge Saturday.
Investigators said Charles Green started a trash bin fire that ignited a garage Wednesday in the Austin neighborhood. That garage collapsed, killing Captain Meyer.
A Cook County judge ordered that Green remain in custody. In court, prosecutors said he was a convicted felon who was a danger to the community.
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Chicago firefighters packed the courtroom Saturday afternoon.
Green has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated arson for allegedly lighting a fire in a trash bin that investigators said was the cause of the garage fire.
The firefighter’s widow, who attended the hearing, left court without comment.
“They’re broken up,” Chicago firefighters union president Patrick Cleary said. “I mean, they lost a father and a husband. It’s understandable. It’s horrendous.”
On Friday, Chicago police confirmed that Green, a 44-year-old resident of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon hours after the fire.
Firefighters were called the fire at about 4:03 a.m. Wednesday in the 1200-block of Pine Avenue. The Office of Fire Investigations said the fire was started by someone intentionally igniting the contents of a trash bin.
During Saturday’s hearing, prosecutors said video footage captured Green walking down an alley that connects his West Potomac Avenue home to where the fire occurred Wednesday around 3:30 a.m. They said a security camera captured Green near the garbage cans next to a garage before smoke and flames appeared only seconds later.
Captain Meyer was among the firefighters who were called to fight the blaze. The veteran firefighter died after the garage roof collapsed on him, reigniting the fire. He was rushed to an area hospital where he later died.
The assistant state’s attorney on the case did not give a motive for the arson, but said in court “setting a fire is inherently dangerous. It spreads quickly… but it can also be deadly as it was in this case.”
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, along with 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez, attended the hearing in support of the Meyer family.
They’re broken up… they lost a father and a husband. It’s understandable. It’s horrendous.
Patrick Cleary, Chicago firefighters union president
“The court system is not a system unto itself. It has a very real impact on our communities,” Ald. Lopez said.
When investigators arrested Green later in the day Wednesday, they recovered lighters, lighter fluid, burnt paper and the clothes Green was wearing when he was recorded by several security cameras. Authorities said that clothing preliminarily tested positive for accelerants.
Green has denied any involvement in setting the fire. A witness, along with Green’s girlfriend, identified him in the surveillance video.
Prosecutors said Green is a convicted felon with five prior convictions dating back to the 1990s. According to court records, he already had a warrant for arrest issued for failure to appear in court for a retail theft case.
Green returns to court next week on the same day family and friends, Chicago firefighters and the city will say a tearful goodbye to Captain Meyer.
Public visitation for Captain Meyer will take place from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Malec and Sons Funeral Home in Norwood Park on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
The funeral service follows Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Saint John Brebeuf Church in Niles.
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