Man charged with murder of Chicago Fire Department Capt. David Meyer to remain in jail
The man charged with murder in the death of Chicago Fire Department Capt. David Meyer was ordered held at Cook County Jail while he awaits trial, after a judge deemed him a danger to the public.
More than a dozen Chicago firefighters and paramedics stood in the courtroom in uniform as 44-year-old Charles Green made his first court appearance, charged with two felony counts of murder and one felony count of aggravated arson causing bodily harm in the fire that caused Meyer's death.
"We're a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and we support our members and we support our families," said Patrick Cleary, president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2.
Meyer, 54, was among the firefighters who responded to a garage fire early Wednesday morning in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side. After the fire was extinguished, the garage collapsed, and a beam struck Meyer. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, and later was pronounced dead.
At Green's detention hearing, the judge said because he not only poses a danger to the public, but has multiple felony convictions, and has failed to appear in court eight times before in prior cases, he will remain in custody ahead of his trial.
Prosecutors said surveillance video shows Green was the only person entering and exiting the alleyway near where the fire started in the 5500 block of West Crystal Street in the Austin neighborhood early Wednesday morning.
He was caught on video in the alley seconds before the fire started. Minutes later, he was caught on another surveillance camera at a nearby gas station.
Detectives were able to identify his face in that gas station video and tracked Green down at his house shortly after the fire.
Police said Green himself, his girlfriend, and a witness identified him as the person in both surveillance videos.
Court documents show, during a search of green's home, officers found the clothes seen on the alley surveillance video, burnt pieces of paper, a cigarette lighter, and lighter fluid.
Preliminary testing of his clothing showed traces of an accelerant.
"He should be detained. He had a criminal history. They had the video footage. He admitted he was there," Cleary said.
Green's public defender asked he be released under court supervision and questioned the credibility of the evidence found in his home along with the surveillance video, arguing another garage obstructs the view of the garage set on fire.
Green is due back in court on Tuesday.
Meantime, Meyer's funeral services have been set for next week.
A visitation will be held on Monday, April 28 at Malec & Sons Funeral Home, 6000 N. Milwaukee Ave., from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The funeral service will be held Tuesday, April 29, at St. John Brebeuf Parish, 8350 N. Harlem Ave. in Niles, Illinois, at 10 a.m.
The interment will be private.
Meyer served 29 years with the Chicago Fire Department. He is survived by his parents, his wife, three daughters, and a son.
