Murder One Charges for Man Accused of Incinerating Neighbors in Trailer Fire

OAK LAWN, IL -- An Oak Lawn man who died in a trailer fire in the early morning hours of June 8 called police to report that a man was setting fire to his deck, prosecutors said. The owner of the the trailer home and his roommate would be dead within minutes, despite police officers’ attempts to save them as fire consumed their mobile home and the one next door.

Gerado Alonso, 30, appeared before Cook County Associate Judge Peggy Chiampas on two charges of first degree murder during a Sunday afternoon bond hearing at 26th and California. Oak Lawn police took Alonso into a custody on Saturday.

Sometime before midnight at the Airway Manufactured Home Community at 9001 S. Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn, a neighbor told police that Alonso knocked on their door. He asked if he could bum a cigarette if he could keep the neighbor’s Bic lighter, the prosecutor said.

>> Second Victim Dies In Oak Lawn Trailer Fire, Police Investigation Continues

Neighbors said they heard Alonso pounding on the door of David Danna, 47, and his 59-year-old roommate Randy Chabala, for 45 minutes during the late evening hours of June 7, prosecutors said. Alonso was also spotted by another neighbor drinking alcohol on Danna’s deck.

One of the men living in the trailer called 911 to report that Alonso was on their deck trying to set it on fire. Around 12:43 a.m. during the overnight hours of June 8, a Hometown police officer who happened to be in the area reported a possible structure fire. The Hometown officer heard a man calling for him who was trapped between his burning deck and a fence. The officer tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.

When Oak Lawn police officers arrived they, too, tried to reach the man calling for help by pulling away the fence. They were driven back by the fire’s heat. Oak Lawn firefighters arrived and quickly extinguished the blaze. Police said that Danna was found on the deck. He was pronounced at the scene.

Chabala was located barely alive in the mobile home’s rear bedroom, where firefighters found him lying in bed. Chabala was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. He was later airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center’s burn unit in Maywood. Chabala passed away from his injuries later that afternoon. The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled both men's deaths homicides, who suffered extensive burns and sharp force wounds.

Alonso was taken into police custody for questioning at another mobile home in Airway several hours after the fire on June 8. He was not arrested and charged until Saturday.

The prosecutor said Alonso met Illinois’s criminal statutes for no bail. She described the alleged murders as “cold and calculating” because the “victims and defendant” were overheard arguing. The fire was intentionally set because of what the caller told the 911 dispatcher. The neighbors also identified the lighter they loaned to Alonso.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Alonso is an unemployed cook. He said Alonso is bipolar and suffers from anxiety attacks. Alonso also wished to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights and did not want to be interviewed any further by investigators or the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

According to police, Alonso resided at the Airway Mobile Home Community. Neighbors allege that Alonso had been kicked out of the park several years ago reportedly for breaking into other homes, but had recently resurfaced, asking neighbors for cigarettes and money.

He is being held without bail at Cook County Jail. Alonso’s next hearing is June 20 in Bridgeview.