Serial Arsonist Charged After Spree of Garbage Fires

A Forest Park man was charged with arson following a police investigation that spanned several months and a handful of garbage can and dumpster fires in the area. 

Samuel Sahady, 37, of the 7200 block of Randolph in Forest Park, was charged with six counts of arson, one count of attempted arson and one count of property damage. 

Forest Park Deputy Chief Tom Aftanas said police first investigated two dumpster fires in the early morning hours of Dec. 29 in the 100 block of Marengo and 7300 block of Dixon. On Jan. 31, three garbage cans were set fire to in the 100 block of Marengo and 7200 block of Franklin. 

Police didn't originally report the incidents because it was an ongoing investigation, and they felt the offender lived in the area, Aftanas said. 

No other cases occurred until March 3, when eight incidents happened starting at 12:20 a.m. Aftanas said police received a call about someone walking a dog, and soon after a fire started. Police got video surveillance that showed a man walking a dog.

"He would just go out walking and light fires," Aftanas said. 

Later that night an officer on patrol saw the man in an alley, and he fled on foot to an apartment building in the 7200 block of Randolph. Aftanas said the man locked the door, but police later arrested him. "He was eventually questioned and implicated himself," Aftantas said.  

Sahady was charged with arson for incidents in the 100 block of Belvidere, the 7300 block of Dixon, the 100 block of Elgin and the 100 block of Harlem. He was also charged with attempted arson for an incident in the 100 block of Belvidere and property damage in the 100 block of Marengo. 

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Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.

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