chicagoareafire.com

Excerpts from cwbchicago.com:

One of the men charged with setting an arson fire that resulted in the death of an on-duty Chicago firefighter has filed a federal lawsuit against four Chicago police officers and the city, claiming they ignored “large amounts” of exculpatory evidence proving he had no role in the case.

Prosecutors dropped all charges against Martez Cristler in October, 72 days after he was jailed on murder and arson counts. The other two men are still fighting the charges.

Jermaine Pelt, a veteran of the Chicago Fire Department, died from carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke and soot inhalation after debris and a dresser fell on top of him, knocking off his air mask, as he fought the blaze in the 12000 block of South Wallace on April 4, 2023, officials said. He would have turned 59 the next day.

Prosecutors charged the building’s owner, Cristler, and a third man, saying they set the fire so the owner could claim an insurance payout. The state claimed that surveillance video showed Cristler’s car circling the block and said a phone number “associated with” Cristler pinged in the area before, during, and after the fire started. They said he and the third man repeatedly called each other as they circled the block in their vehicles. Cristler claims that he was sleeping at the home he shares with his mother and younger brothers at the time of the fire.

The federal lawsuit claims that the phone number in question belongs to Cristler’s father and was never in Martez’s name. It was allegedly added to his mobile account in July 2023, three months after the fire and a year before charges were filed. The lawsuit also claims that Cristler’s father bought and drove an Infiniti he registered in his son’s name, and Cristler drives a 2014 Jaguar that his grandfather bought him.

The lawsuit alleges “egregious misconduct” by CPD investigators who “knew” he did not commit the crimes. He sat in Cook County jail from July 3 to October 3, 2024. Prosecutors dropped the case a week later. The lawsuit alleges illegal detention and malicious prosecution under state and federal law.

The Cook County Record was the first to report on the lawsuit.

thanks Dan

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