A grand jury indicted the man accused of fatally shooting a deputy in Rockford this month on 75 separate counts of state charges Wednesday, including 60 counts of first degree murder, according to the Winnebago County state's attorney's office.
Floyd E. Brown, 39, was indicted on 60 counts of first degree murder of a peace officer, a state charge that carries a mandatory sentence of natural life in prison, the Winnebago County state's attorney's office said in a statement.
Brown was also indicted under state law on three counts of attempted first degree murder of a peace officer, one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, two counts of being an armed habitual criminal, four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, one count of aggravated unlawful restraint and two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm owner's identification card.
The charges in the grand jury's indictment are state charges, officials said, filed separately and independent from the federal charges Brown already faced. Each jurisdiction can prosecute under its respective laws, the state's attorney's office said, and the prosecutions will run parallel to one another.
Brown was previously federally charged with killing a special deputy United States Marshal, a charge that carries a potential penalty of death or life in prison if convicted.
The charges stem from a shooting and subsequent hours-long standoff on March 7, in which authorities said officers of the U.S. Marshal's Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force attempted to execute state warrants for Brown at around 9:15 a.m. at the Extended Stay hotel on North Bell School Road in Rockford.
A complaint detailing the murder charge against him said that officers Brown and Brown's girlfriend were staying in room 305 of the hotel and knocked on the door. Meanwhile, other officers "were positioned around the exterior of the hotel," including Deputy Jacob Keltner.
When police knocked, they heard a male voice inside yell "Don't do it," the complaint states. When the officers used a key to open the door, they discovered the interior swing lock was still engaged, according to the complaint.
Brown's girlfriend, who came to the door but did not open it, said she wanted to get out, the complaint reads. Meanwhile, a male voice could be heard yelling from inside the room before gunfire came through the hotel door and walls.
Brown fled out of the hotel room via a third-story window, the complaint states, shooting Keltner in the head as he did. Keltner was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead hours after the shooting.
Brown fled the scene in a vehicle before police located him on an expressway in the Bloomington-Normal area, authorities said. Once officers began pursuing him, he shot at them "multiple times using a long gun," according to the complaint.
Illinois State Police said Brown's vehicle was struck by a police cruiser and crashed in a rural area along Interstate 55 in Logan County. A standoff with state police and SWAT officers ensued for several hours, officials said, until Brown was apprehended and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries related to the crash.
Brown, a resident of Springfield, was been identified as a burglary suspect in Bloomington, Illinois, three months prior to the shooting. Police said Brown fled from officers investigating the burglaries, driving without headlights at a high rate of speed before crashing in a multi-car accident. He fled the accident scene on foot, police said, and it was not clear if he was ever taken into custody.
According to Sangamon County court records, Brown's history with law enforcement in the area dates back to 1996.
He previously was found guilty in that county of domestic battery, resisting peace officers, criminal trespass to a residence, aggravated battery of a peace officer or fireman, reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, reckless driving, endangering the life of a child and more.
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Brown was wanted on warrants out of Sangamon County, McLean County and Champaign County, authorities said, plus a parole violation warrant from the Illinois Department of Corrections. It was not clear which of the warrants the officers, including Keltner, were attempting to execute in Thursday's incident.
Keltner was a 13-year veteran of the McHenry County Sheriff's office who left behind a wife and two young children, officials said.
"Deputy Keltner was an integral part of our office, someone who had risen quickly to greater responsibilities after he was first sworn in in 2006," McHenry County Sheriff Bill Prim said in a statement after the shooting. "He was loved and respected by all his colleagues, and he will be sorely missed."
Brown is in federal custody and was scheduled to appear before a judge in Rockford on Thursday afternoon. He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges against him last week.
His future appearances in Winnebago County Court will be coordinated with federal prosecutors, the state's attorney's office said.
