Attempted murder charge filed in Bolingbrook arson case

An attempted first-degree murder charge was filed against a Bolingbrook man accused of setting fire to a homeless man who later died from his injuries.

On Aug. 15, a grand jury indicted Turdor Ereba, 21, on a charge of attempted first-degree murder of Kevin Wilson, 35. Prosecutors said in a court filing that Wilson was a homeless man who suffered injuries from a fire on July 24 outside the Levy Center, 251 Canterbury Lane, Bolingbrook.

Ereba is charged with knowingly performing an act that was a “substantial step” toward first-degree murder by setting Wilson on fire.

Ereba is also charged with aggravated battery of Wilson by pouring a flammable substance on him and igniting the substance and aggravated arson of the Levy Center.

On Aug. 16, Will County Judge John Connor granted a request from prosecutors to keep Ereba detained in the Will County jail under the SAFE-T Act.

Connor signed a court order that said he found Ereba was a danger to other people and the community and no conditions existed that would “alleviate potential harm from setting fires.”

Connor’s court order said Ereba’s alleged arson of Little Caesars in Bolingbrook on May 21 was “indicative of [an] assaultive nature.”

Ereba was charged on May 24 with arson of the pizzeria and criminal damage to the restaurant property. Despite a request from prosecutors to keep Ereba in jail, Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins granted Ereba’s pretrial release.

DeWilkins’ May 24 court order set no home confinement or electronic monitoring conditions for Ereba for his pretrial release, court records show.

Both parties in Ereba’s case plan to address potential mental fitness issues for him at a future court date.