Crime & Safety
McHenry, Lake County Deputies on Paid Leave Following Fatal Shooting of Murder Suspect
Gerald Boyes was shot in the parking lot of a sports bar in Antioch.
The deputies have been placed on paid leave, which is standard procedure after the use of force, as authorities continue to sort out the details surrounding the shooting of Gerald Robert Boyes, which lead to his death in the parking lot of Toppers, 26211 Route 173 in Antioch, at about 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
Boyes was wanted for a probation violation out of Florida and was in possession of a vehicle that was reported stolen from Florida following the shooting, according to a press release from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force. He was also considered a suspect in the double homicide of his father, Gerald Boyes Sr., and his father’s girlfriend, Billie Porter, on April 11 in Kentucky, according to the Paduch Sun. The couple was killed after being struck multiple times with a hammer, according McCracken County Sheriff’s Department press release.
Photo caption: Gerald Boyes Sr. and Billie Porter were murdered on April 11 in Kentucky, police said.
Investigators learned late last week that Boyes was in Illinois after a law enforcement database showed Boyes had pawned an item at a shop in Villa Park, according to a McCracken County Sheriff’s Office press release. Investigators continued to track Boyes whereabouts, conducting surveillance operations in the Chicago area. This lead them to Troopers where they located the vehicle authorities believe Boyes stole.
Police said officers spotted Boyes leaving the club during the early morning hours of April 16 and getting into the stolen vehicle. As law enforcement officers approached, Boyes brandished a gun, according to the McCracken Co. press release. He was then shot by officers, local authorities said.
The deputies involved in the shooting are 10-year and 11-year veterans of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and nine-year and 23-year veterans of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, the Northwest Herald reports.
Thomas Nugent, assistant commander of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, told the Lake County News Sun that all four deputies opened fire on Boyes after he brandished a handgun. The Lake County Coroner's Office has not yet ruled on the cause of death for Boyes as they await toxicology results and other tests that should determine how far away the officers were when they fired at Boyes.
Illinois Investigation Links Boyes to Kentucky Murder: Police
During the course of their investigation detectives learned the item Boyes pawned in Villa Park was a wallet, which they believe belonged to his father, according to the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department press release. They also suspect Boyes stole a handgun from his father’s home, and found a pill bottle on Boyes following the shooting, which was a prescription for his father, according to the news release.
More via the Northwest Herald and the Lake County News Sun
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