The man accused of igniting a deadly fire that resulted in the death of Chicago Firefighter and EMT Michael Altman made his first court appearance on Monday. Sheaves Slate, 27, was ordered to remain in custody while awaiting trial by Judge Luciano Panici Jr., as prosecutors detailed their account of last week’s events in Rogers Park.
Assistant Stateâs Attorney Mike Pekara revealed that Slate used to live with a friend in a third-floor apartment in the 1700 block of West North Shore Avenue, but he had moved out of the residence.
On the night before the blaze, March 15, two tenants spotted Slate in the laundry room. Surveillance footage captured him visiting his former apartment on the third floor, where he knocked and demanded to speak with an old roommate. When another tenant refused, Slate reportedly became agitated.
A neighbor reported hearing the ensuing argument and Slate’s threat to two tenants, stating they were “going to pay.” This prompted one tenant to call 911, though the call was canceled when they assumed Slate had left.
Ring camera footage later documented Slate returning to the apartment at 11:01 p.m. and departing at 12:25 a.m. Witnesses observed him sleeping in the hallway at various times during the early morning hours of March 16. When a tenant left for work at 4 a.m., Slate was forced out of the building. However, prosecutors claim he re-entered through a broken basement window, staying in the boiler room for several hours before setting the fire.
Around 11:30 a.m., 32-year-old Altman and other Truck 47 firefighters responded to the apartment fire. As Altman worked on the first floor, other firefighters discovered a door obstructing the basement boiler room entrance where the fire raged. After moving the door, the basement ceiling collapsed, causing Altman to fall into the engulfed boiler room, according to Pekara.
Altman suffered burns covering 90 percent of his body and was declared dead the following day.
Pekara stated that Slate confessed to investigators that he started the fire due to feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts stemming from strained friendships. He allegedly admitted to igniting the mattress with a lighter and, realizing the fire was uncontrollable, blocked the doorway with a door before leaving. Prosecutors allege that Slate left without notifying 911 or alerting residents.
After departing the scene, video footage captured him boarding a Clark Street bus and then taking the Red Line to the Harold Washington Library, where he dyed his hair from orange to brown and changed clothes, Pekara said. The next day, he checked into a hospital for suicidal thoughts, where Chicago police arrested him.
Slate faces charges of first-degree murder, murder during the commission of a forcible felony, aggravated arson causing injury to a firefighter, and residential arson.
Upon being informed of his Miranda rights, Slate allegedly admitted to living in tents that had accidentally caught fire. One incident occurred in August or September 2025 at Osterman Park, and another in December 2025 near Buena Park.
Court records indicate Slate has been arrested four times in the Chicago area since July. Currently on probation, he has had an active warrant for failure to appear since missing a felony court hearing on January 16.
His legal troubles began in July with an arrest for felony methamphetamine possession and misdemeanor retail theft on the North Side. He missed court appearances in August and September related to the case.
After being arrested in late September on another felony retail theft charge, prosecutors dropped the methamphetamine charges. The July retail theft charges were dismissed in October, though records show he missed that hearing too.
For the September retail theft charge, Slate pleaded guilty on October 30 after missing another court date, receiving a one-year probation sentence.
While on probation, Slate was arrested again in January for felony retail theft and methamphetamine possession. Released to await trial, he failed to appear in court five days later, resulting in an active warrant since January 16.
He is the fourth individual this year to be charged with killing or attempting to kill someone in Chicago while on felony pretrial release.
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