Crime & Law
Man Charged in Chicago Firefighter’s Death Allegedly Told Residents They Were ‘Going to Pay’ Before Blaze
(WTTW News)
The Chicago man accused of starting the fire inside a Rogers Park apartment building that killed firefighter Michael Altman allegedly got into an altercation with residents there a day earlier and told them they were “going to pay,” prosecutors said.
A Cook County judge on Monday ruled Sheaves Slate, 27, will be detained in Cook County Jail pending trial on charges including first-degree murder, felony murder and aggravated arson stemming from the fatal fire last week.
“We are all grieving the tragic loss of Michael Altman — a young father and dedicated firefighter who followed in his family’s footsteps to serve and protect others,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neil Burke said in a statement after Monday’s hearing. “His death is a profound loss for the Chicago Fire Department, his family and loved ones, and communities across Cook County. My thoughts are with all who are mourning during this incredibly difficult time.”
According to Cook County prosecutors, Slate previously lived in the three-floor apartment building in the 1700 block of West North Shore Avenue and periodically returned to visit with his former roommate.
Prosecutors said Slate had a history of squatting in the building, making threats to residents and acting erratically.
Earlier this month, residents complained to building management that Slate was trespassing in restricted areas, and he was told he had to leave, according to prosecutors. Slate allegedly returned on March 15 and demanded to speak with his former roommate but was told by that person’s current roommates that he could not do so.
Prosecutors claimed that Slate was then overheard telling them they “are going to pay.” One of those roommates called 911 because Slate was yelling, but later called back and canceled their report, believing Slate had left the building, according to prosecutors.
Slate was later seen by multiple residents sleeping in different areas of the building late on March 15 into the morning of March 16.
One resident saw Slate around 4 a.m. and ordered him to leave, prosecutors said, but Slate allegedly returned a short time later and entered the building’s boiler room, where he’d previously been staying, through a broken basement window.
Slate then allegedly used a handheld lighter to set a mattress in that room on fire, and when he realized he couldn’t put out the flames, he positioned a door to conceal the mattress and left the building without calling 911 or alerting anyone inside, prosecutors said.
Just before 11:30 a.m. March 16, residents noticed the smoke from the fire and called 911, leading Altman and other firefighters to be dispatched to the scene, prosecutors said. Once there, firefighters in the basement moved the door that Slate had allegedly placed there, which caused the ceiling above them — which was the first floor of the building — to collapse.
Altman, who had been on the first floor, fell into the fire and was engulfed in flames, prosecutors said. He was hospitalized with burns to 90% of his body and was pronounced dead the next day.
After leaving the building, Slate allegedly boarded a bus to the Harold Washington Library, where he changed his clothes and dyed his hair from orange to brown. Prosecutors said he checked himself into a hospital with suicidal ideations the following day and was taken into custody at the hospital by police.
Slate allegedly told investigators that he’d previously lived in tents that had burned down due to what he said were his “accidental actions.” While he initially denied starting the Rogers Park fire, prosecutors said, he later confessed and claimed he started the blaze because of his suicidal feelings.
Altman, 32, was a fourth-generation Chicago Fire Department firefighter whose grandfather, Edward Altman, served as CFD commissioner in the late 1990s.
“He was not just a public servant, but a true hero,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement last week. “His service was marked by constant displays of courage, bravery, and strength. As we grieve and offer condolences, we must remember how important it is to support our first responders especially as they navigate this loss.”
