Charges dropped in arson that killed Chicago firefighter

Cook County prosecutors have dropped charges against two men who were accused of starting a fire in a vacant building in order to submit a fraudulent insurance claim, leading to a blaze that spread to neighboring homes and caused the death of a Chicago firefighter.

The move to dismiss the cases against the men came on Thursday, just days before a jury trial was set to begin on Monday.

Anthony Moore, 49, and Nicholas Virgil, 39, had been facing multiple charges in connection with the fire and the death of Chicago firefighter Jermaine Pelt, who was killed in the line of duty on April 4, 2023. Virgil was charged with murder, aggravated arson and other charges while Moore was charged with wire fraud, insurance fraud and forgery.

Charges against a third man, Martez Cristler, 24, were dropped in 2024.

The original charges were the result of a yearlong, multiagency investigation after which prosecutors alleged that the men used bottles of hand sanitizer to start a fire in an empty, vacant building before fraudulently filing an insurance claim, pretending the residence was occupied by renters and filled with furniture, equipment and tools.

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Virgil “has been fighting to clear his name for nearly two years,” according to Matthew Hendrickson, a spokesman with the Cook County public defender’s office, which represented Virgil. Virgil spent months in jail and lost his job, Hendrickson said.

A judge later ordered his release on electronic monitoring.

“The state’s decision to drop all charges against Mr. Virgil today is an acknowledgement of the weakness of their case, which never should have been charged in the first place given the complete lack of evidence against our client,” Hendrickson said.

Moore’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Cook County state’s attorney’s office, though, said in a statement that its commitment to seeking justice for Pelt “remains unwavering.”

“Prosecutors must exercise discretion at every stage of a case, guided by the interests of justice, fairness and the law,” Elyssa Cherney, a spokeswoman for the office, said in a statement. “At this time, the CCSAO is continuing to evaluate the evidence to ensure that any further action is consistent with our obligation to seek justice. Because this remains an active and ongoing matter, we cannot comment further at this time.”

At the time of the fire, Pelt was called to a frame house in the 12000 block of South Wallace Street in the West Pullman neighborhood, where a heavy fire consumed the second floor and in the attic about 2:30 a.m.

Pelt was assigned to take a hose line into one of the neighboring buildings that caught fire, but firefighters later evacuated due to dangerous smoke conditions, prosecutors said at an initial hearing in 2024. Once outside, his colleagues realized Pelt wasn’t with them, and a team went back in. They found him on the ground with debris on top of him and his mask dislodged.

Investigators smelled hand sanitizer and ruled that the fire was set intentionally, prosecutors said.

Moore filed an insurance claim on the residence, and proffered a lease agreement that attested to a loss of rental income, prosecutors had alleged.

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Pelt was born and raised in the West Pullman neighborhood, the same area where he worked as a firefighter. He walked his only daughter down the aisle months before he was killed, family members said.

“He had a devotion to this job and this neighborhood,” said Capt. Rory Ohse after Pelt’s death.