Man charged in Waukegan arson now faces murder charges
A former Waukegan mayoral candidate charged with intentionally burning down the Salvation Army building in Waukegan has been charged with murder by Canadian authorities in connection to a fire that killed a 48-year-old woman.
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, police have issued an arrest warrant for Gregory D. Flesher, 48, who is being held in Lake County on $2.5 million bail for the Waukegan arson charge and a second attempted arson.
Canadian authorities have charged Flesher with second degree murder and arson disregarding human life, and an extradition process is under way, according to a Sault Ste. Marie Sault Star report.
Authorities accuse Flesher of starting a fire inside a four-unit Canadian apartment building, which killed 48-year-old Leeanne Hill, just two weeks after starting the fire that burned down a former Salvation Army building at 133 S. Genesse St. in Waukegan.
The Salvation Army fire occurred on May 4. Flesher is also charged with attempted arson and criminal damage to property for attempting to set fire to a building at 224 Washington on May 11, just blocks from the Salvation Army. Police said he used fireworks in both cases. Flesher, who owns Flesher Plastering Co., ran for Waukegan mayor in 2009 and ran for a seat on the Lake County Board as a write-in candidate last year.