2 charged with murder, arson, 1 charged with fraud in 2023 fire that killed Chicago firefighter Jermaine Pelt

Two men have been charged with the death of a Chicago firefighter more than a year after he perished while responding to a blaze at a vacant West Pullman neighborhood apartment building.Martez Cristler, 22, and Nicholas Virgil, 37, were ordered held in custody pending trial during a hearing Friday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse where they faced multiple counts of murder and aggravated arson in connection with the April 4, 2023 fire that killed 48-year-old Jermaine Pelt.A third man, who Cook County prosecutors said was in contact with the two alleged arsonists before the fire began, is accused of committing insurance fraud in connection with the fire, but has not been charged with Pelt’s death.Anthony Moore, 47, who owns the building where the blaze began, was released pending trial on Friday with conditions to surrender any firearms in his possession to police and not speak to any witnesses in the case, according to court records. He faces counts of insurance and wire fraud, as well as forgery, which are not eligible for detention.A source with knowledge of the still ongoing investigation said Moore would face additional charges if investigators connect him to a suspected conspiracy between the three men to collect insurance money.“All the dots just haven’t connected yet,” the source said.Martez Cristler, 22, (left) and Nicholas Virgil, 37, (right) face multiple counts of murder and aggravated arson in connection with the April 4, 2023 fire that killed Chicago firefighter Jermaine Pelt, 48.Chicago Police DepartmentIn 2021, Moore purchased the building at 12017 S. Wallace St. while it was in the middle of renovations and took out an insurance policy worth nearly $400,000, in addition to covering lost rental income, prosecutors said in court.Moore allegedly told the insurer the building was rented out and provided a copy of a lease, but prosecutors said it was actually unoccupied and uninhabitable, noting it did not have kitchen sinks or completed plumbing. There also were no utilities connected, nor furniture inside.A person helping with the renovations, who was in the building a week before it burned, told investigators the only items inside were a broom, garbage supplies and some drywall, prosecutors said.After the fire, Moore filed a claim, including documentation, in which he stated he was renting a unit for $1,350 per month and claimed he had lost a generator and other expensive tools and equipment in the fire, prosecutors said.Residents living next to Moore’s building awoke to intense heat and light about 2:30 a.m. on the day of the blaze, to the point where one neighbor said they thought they had overslept and it was daytime, prosecutors said.Anthony Moore faces charges of insurance fraud, wire fraud, and forgery.Chicago Police DepartmentPelt was initially assigned to work a fire hydrant, but was instructed to take a hose into the building next door when the fire spread. There, firefighters found dangerous smoke conditions and were ordered to evacuate, but Pelt was missing when the crew regrouped outside. A team was sent back inside for him and he was found with debris and a dresser on top of him in the attic, prosecutors said.His mask had been knocked loose and despite being rushed to a hospital, officials said he died from carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation several hours later.A subsequent investigation found the blaze was set with an accelerant, believed to be hand sanitizer. Prosecutors said it causes an initial bright flash of light before smoldering and slowly spreading. That description also matched conditions seen on surveillance video in the block and from neighbor’s observations.After the fire, investigators searched a dumpster behind a barbershop Moore owns and found two empty 2-liter bottles of hand sanitizer, prosecutors said. Search warrants executed on two cell phones belonging to Moore allegedly showed he was in frequent contact with Cristler and Virgil leading up to the blaze.Investigators used cell phone records that showed both men were in the area near Moore’s building multiple times in the hours leading up to the blaze and said both men’s vehicles were recorded by surveillance cameras, including at the time the flames and smoke were seen from the building.Pelt’s death came in an especially tragic week for the Chicago Fire Department. A day later, cfd on the Near North Side.“It is unprecedented to lose two firefighters in back-to-back days, in different circumstances, but each of them responding to a call to serve and responding to the aid of others,” then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at the time.