Suspect in Chicago Firefighter's Death Has Detention Hearing Rescheduled

A detention hearing was rescheduled for Monday for a man charged with arson and murder in the death of Chicago Firefighter Michael Altman.

The defendant, Sheaves Slate, 27, of Avondale, was hospitalized and did not appear for his hearing Saturday. Slate was charged Friday with both residential arson and aggravated arson, along with murder, in connection with the fire in Rogers Park that led to Altman’s death, police said.

Dozens of firefighters and other supporters packed the courtroom to show support for the victim at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago.

Pat Cleary, president of the Chicago Fire Fighters Union, said he was pleased that charges were brought quickly in the case. “I just want to make sure it’s the right guy and he gets what he has coming,” he said. “As usual, we support our brothers and sisters, and we always will. Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of tragedies in the past couple of years, but we’re going to support the families.”

Cleary said Altman left behind a pregnant wife and a 2-year-old child.

Slate was arrested Wednesday afternoon in the Uptown neighborhood and was being held on a warrant unrelated to the fire, according to police. Public records show he has a short history of prior arrests, including one earlier this year for alleged possession of methamphetamine.

Altman, 32, died Tuesday morning, a day after he suffered critical injuries at the scene of a fire on the 1700 block of West North Shore Avenue. Altman fell through the floor into a room that was fully on fire, according to a family fundraiser.

Altman was a fourth-generation Chicago Fire Department firefighter who joined the department in May 2024.

At the courthouse, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza attended and asked the public to come out for Monday’s hearing.

“If we want to support for the family, this is how we do it,” Mendoza said. “We lost a hero in Chicago. A 32-year-old fireman who every day put on the uniform to protect us and he died, essentially, trying to keep people safe.”

“It didn’t have to happen,” she said. “Because a guy who is a repeat criminal offender comes in and out of the system as we dole out this forgiveness as if it were Pez candy, and these guys get out, they violate their hearings, and nonetheless they don’t get punished for that. It had to get to a point where one of our heroes had to get murdered for us to take action.”

She thanked Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke for bringing charges quickly in the arson, adding, “They believe they have the evidence to prove this is the right person who committed this heinous crime.”

“We need to make sure our judges are also doing the correct thing,” she added, “which is locking up these dangerous individuals.”

© 2026 Pioneer Press Newspapers (Suburban Chicago, Ill.). Visit www.chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.