Man Accused Of Vandalizing CFD Firehouses, Firefighters' Personal Cars With Axe

CHICAGO—A man accused of attacking Chicago firefighters’ vehicles and government property with an axe is now facing 21 felonies. Jacob Bogdan, 26, was charged with assorted counts of criminal damage to property and criminal damage to government property.

The alleged vandalism spree unfolded in the early morning hours of Feb. 5, when a man, later identified by Chicago police as Bogdan, broke the windows of a firehouse garage in the 200 block of West Cermak in the Chinatown neighborhood. The man was reportedly seen carrying “a sharp object.”

The attacks against Chicago Fire Department property continued. On the afternoon of March 16, police said Bogdan went to the firehouse in the 100 block of East Pershing Road, where he broke three garage windows behind the Bronzeville station.

Police said Bogdan revisited the same Bronzeville firehouse on Pershing Road just before 1 a.m. last Monday, where he entered a closed lot and axed the hoods and windshields of 12 CFD personal vehicles.

The spree continued until Friday, when, just before 6 a.m., Bogdan went to the firehouse in the 100 block of West 59th Street in Princeton Park, where he is said to have damaged seven CFD personal vehicles.

The 26-year-old man was arrested Saturday in the 200 block of West Cermak Road, where police said Bogdan was identified as the person responsible for the damaged vehicles and broken windows. The combined total of damages is approximately $130,600.

Bogdan appeared Sunday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, where he was ordered detained until his next hearing on Friday.