Fugitive Fatally Shot By Police In Beach Park: Sheriff's Office

BEACH PARK, IL — A pair of sheriff's deputies shot and killed a man they had been sent to arrest Tuesday as part of a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive apprehension task force, authorities said.

The shooting began shortly after 12:30 p.m. as officers approached a home in the 38500 block of North Green Bay Road where they believed a man wanted for murder was staying, according to a preliminary narrative of the incident from Sgt. Chris Covelli, spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

"As they were approaching the residence, the 24-year-old male who had the first-degree murder warrant exited his vehicle armed with a pistol," Covelli told reporters at a briefing Tuesday afternoon. "He opened fire on the officers as they attempted to apprehend him."

Two deputies assigned to the warrants team — members of the Lake County and McHenry County sheriff's offices — returned fire and struck the man an as-yet undetermined number of times, Covelli said.

Members of the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force team tried to administer first aid to the wounded man until paramedics arrived, according to Covelli. The man was later pronounced dead at Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan.

The man fatally shot by police was identified as Brandon Gardner, of Beach Park. An autopsy was conducted Wednesday morning and determined his death was caused by a gunshot, according to Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper.

Prosecutors blamed Gardner for the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man on Dec. 19, 2018, in Zion, according to police and court records. In that incident, Nicholas Robinson, of Zion, was found dead in a parking lot in the 1600 block of Lorelei Avenue.

Three men accused of murdering Robinson are being held at Lake County Jail in lieu of the $300,000 cash portion of their bond. Eric Whitaker, 26, Quantell Williams, 23, and Brandyn Jones, 21, were arrested within weeks of the killing and charged of first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm. They have tentative trial dates set for next month.

The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting by police because the sheriff's office, one of its member agencies, was involved. It will turn over its findings to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office, which is tasked with determining if the man's homicide was justified and whether the officer's actions were lawful.

Wauconda Police Det. Heather Cognac, a spokesperson for the task force, said investigators were collecting evidence and statements from witnesses and officers.

Covelli said both officers were transported to an area hospital, but neither had serious injuries. One officer suffered a laceration on his arm, but it was not immediately clear if it was related to the exchange of gunfire, while the other officer was taken for a precautionary evaluation after having fatally shot a man.

"Certainly when it happens, it's always unexpected," Covelli said of police shootings. "They're always under the assumption it could happen, but when it happens it absolutely comes as a surprise. This individual was wanted for first-degree murder, so certainly their awareness was heightened that violence may occur."