A man was convicted of arson in Lake Forest which was committed while he was out on bond in the murder of a Highland Park father and business owner who was killed at Fort Sheridan Beach in 2023.
Nicholas M. Caban, 23, of Highland Park, was convicted last month on arson charges relating to an arson fire committed on October 7, 2022.
The fire department responded around 5:45 p.m. that day to Lou’s Garage, 1260 Skokie Highway in Lake Forest, for a report of a trailer on fire.
Witnesses on the scene told officers that a male subject was seen leaving the trailer and going southbound on the bike path, according to a police incident report.
Officers at the scene obtained a description of the arson suspect and it was broadcast to area police departments.
A Highland Park police officer located the suspect and identified him as Caban.
Officers noted the smell of alcohol on Caban’s breath and reported that he was demonstrating signs of alcohol impairment, according to the report.
Caban was found in possession of a knife, a half-empty Skol vodka bottle and two cigarette lighters.
Officers interviewed Caban about the arson incident but he refused to speak about it.
The incident report also said officers learned that Caban was out on bond stemming from a previous weapons charge in a murder at Fort Sheridan Beach.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ben Dillon said Matthew Ascaridis, 45, called 911 around 12:54 a.m. on September 17, 2022, to report people being loud on the beach.
Ascaridis left his residence with a flashlight and walked down to the beach.
A witness told investigators he was with Caban and Jacob Firestone, 21, of Highland Park, on the beach.
They were listening to music and riding on a motorized surfboard in the water, Dillon said.
The witness saw a man with a flashlight walking toward them.
The witness left the beach and Firestone and Caban remained there with Ascaridis.
Several hours late, Dillon said a person walking on Fort Sheridan Beach at around 5:12 a.m. reported finding a deceased man lying in the water feet away from shore.
Officers responded to the 0-100 block of Cliff Road in Highland Park and found Ascaridis deceased on the beachfront with signs of trauma.
Caban called 911 around 5:23 a.m. to report he and Firestone had been involved in a physical altercation with a man on the beach.
Caban said a man came at him with a flashlight and hit him, along with Firestone, in the head with the flashlight, Dillon said.
Officers responded to the 3400 block of Dato Avenue in Highland Park and found Caban and Firestone there.
Firestone was transported by ambulance to Highland Park Hospital and then later transferred to Evanston Hospital where he underwent brain surgery due to a brain bleed.
Caban, who suffered a laceration to his face and the back of his head, was also transported to a local hospital.
Both Caban and Firestone admitted to being at the beach and getting into a fight with Ascaridis, Dillon said.
Firestone said he kicked Ascaridis a few times, punched him and threw rocks at him.
Firestone said they stopped hitting Ascaridis when he was knocked out, Dillon said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office ruled Ascaridis’ death a homicide from a physical fight.
Dillon said an autopsy showed Ascaridis was repeatedly struck with significant force, causing his head to snap side to side and resulting in a lacerated spinal cord.
Ascaridis also suffered a broken neck and the autopsy showed Ascaridis was hit by at least two subjects while not moving, Dillon said.
Ascaridis suffered additional serious physical injuries, including a dozen lacerations to the back of his head. He also had signs of drowning.
Ascaridis was a father of two and the owner of a financial services company based in Glenview.
Highland Park resident Jamie Stronberg said in a GoFundMe created for the Ascaridis family that the unexpected passing of Ascaridis to a “senseless act of violence” has been “devastating to those who knew and loved him.”
“Matt was an incredible husband to the love of his life, Darci and a loving and devoted father to Alex & Ivy. He was a kind, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth guy who always greeted friends and family with his warmth and a smile,” Stronberg said.
Caban was initially charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number, a Class 3 felony, andreleased from the Lake County Jail after posting 10% of his $100,000 bond.
Firestone was initially charged with two counts of felony obstructing justice and was arrested after he was released from the hospital. He was also released after posting 10% of his $75,000 bond.
Caban, while out on bond, was charged in the arson fire that occurred in Lake Forest. He was ordered held on a $1.2 million bond, which was later reduced and he was released again.
Arrest warrants were then issued in March 2023 for Caban and Firestone charging them with second-degree murder in Ascaridis’s death.
Firestone and Caban were taken into custody the same day by the Deerfield Police Department and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.
Both men remain held in the Lake County Jail as their murder cases remain ongoing more than two years later.
A sentencing hearing has not been set yet in Caban’s arson case.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 10.
