Bolingbrook man charged with 2nd arson had been on pretrial release

A Bolingbrook man charged with setting a homeless man on fire already had been on pretrial release in another case where he’s charged with causing a fire at Little Caesars restaurant.

On May 22, Turdor Ereba, 21, was taken to the Will County jail on a charge of arson at Little Caesars, 293 S. Bolingbrook Drive, Bolingbrook. He also was charged with burglary and criminal damage to the pizzeria.

In a petition to deny his release from jail, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Frank Byers said Ereba had a “tenacious fixation” and most likely an “outright obsession with destroying [Little Caesars].”

Ereba was an employee of the restaurant but stopped showing up to work and then had a confrontation with the manager before the alleged arson, Byers said.

Despite Byers’ allegations in the petition, Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins ordered that Ereba be released from jail May 24.

A defendant charged with arson can be held in jail under the pretrial provision of the SAFE-T Act.

DeWilkins’ pretrial release order did not mandate that Ereba submit to electronic monitoring. The judge’s order did not check off any additional pretrial release conditions for Ereba to follow beyond not breaking the law.

On Thursday, Ereba was arrested again, this time on charges of aggravated arson of the Levy Center, 251 Canterbury Lane, Bolingbrook. The building is used by DuPage Township for senior citizen services and for banquets.

Ereba also was charged with aggravated battery of a 35-year-old homeless man in connection with pouring a flammable substance on him and igniting the substance. The homeless man had been asleep on a mattress on the patio behind the Levy Center, prosecutors said.

In a petition to deny Ereba’s release from jail, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Erin Krone said the homeless man suffered burns to about 75% of his body, and his doctors had to place him into a medically induced coma for treatment.

“As of [Friday], the known condition of the victim is that he is hospitalized and is listed as in critical but stable condition,” according to Krone’s petition.

Krone’s petition said Ereba’s “pattern of behavior demonstrates an escalation in violent behavior.”

“Moreover, the act of lighting a person on fire demonstrates a depraved indifference that makes it unlikely that [Ereba] would comply with any conditions of pretrial release should he not be detained,” Krone’s petition said.

On Friday, Will County Judge John Connor granted prosecutors’ petition to revoke Ereba’s pretrial release from jail, court records show.