The video in the player above is from a previous report.
Melvin Jordan, 47 at the time of the crime, was found guilty in May 2026 of two counts aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated restraint.
Jordan appeared in court Wednesday for sentencing, where he was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the 2023 attack.
Chicago police said Jordan, who lives on the block where the incident occurred, was arrested about 1:15 p.m. on August 29, 2023 after being accused of brandishing a weapon and unlawfully holding two victims inside a home in the 7700-block of South Marshfield Avenue in Auburn Gresham about an hour earlier.
Chicago Fire Department officials said firefighters were called to a garage fire. After it was put out, a resident approached a battalion chief and said he wanted the department to check out a smell of gas inside of his home.
The chief asked a lieutenant to accompany him along with the resident, CFD officials said. The resident asked the chief to go first and the chief refused, telling the resident to go first and the firefighters would follow.
The resident used a power screw driver to remove a barricade to allow the chief and the lieutenant into the basement, officials said. They did not smell any gas smell inside.
CFD said the chief and lieutenant realized the resident had gone back upstairs and when they went up, they encountered him in the kitchen armed with a knife and with the rear door blocked.
The resident ordered them back into the basement, officials said. Instead, the chief and lieutenant fled to the front of the home, which was also barricaded.
The resident with the knife then chased them, and the chief and lieutenant started using furniture to keep him away as they radioed for assistance.
Police officers and firefighters were able to force their way in and rescue the firefighters, taking the resident into custody, officials said.
The Office of Fire Investigations determined that the garage fire appeared to be intentionally set.
Police said they found at least one hand gun and several knives in the building and that the resident is a convicted felon.
Neither firefighter trapped inside was injured.