CHICAGO — Prosecutors have charged a Decatur man with starting a fire in the bedding department of a Target store in downtown Chicago. Ronald Langley, 36, will be jailed to await trial after Judge Charles Beach found him to be a threat to public safety on Tuesday afternoon.
Officials said that Langley entered the store at 1 South State Street around 7 p.m. on September 28 and made his way to the second floor. He grabbed a can of WD40 and then used it to set a blanket on fire on a display shelf, according to allegations made in court filings. No injuries were reported.
The judge’s detention order said Langley admitted to the crime, which the store’s surveillance cameras recorded.
Police arrested Langley at a different Target store this week. A loss prevention officer at the company’s 1154 South Clark Street location called 911 upon recognizing Langley in his store Saturday afternoon, according to a CPD arrest report.
The security officer directed cops to Langley, who was still in the store.
Langley has no previous criminal cases in Cook County court records, but the judge’s detention notes said he has “multiple prior offenses.”
A video of the fire was posted to TikTok:
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