Brown pleads not guilty in deputy’s fatal shooting

Posted on March 20, 2019
FLOYD BROWN BPD
Floyd Brown pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Rockford federal court. (Bloomington Police Department photos)

 

By Neil Doyle

ROCKFORD – The man accused of killing a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy before leading police on a high-speed chase ending in Lincoln pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Rockford federal court.

Floyd Brown, 39, appeared in Rockford federal court after a grand jury on Tuesday indicted Brown on first-degree murder and weapons charges.

Brown is accused of killing 35-year-old McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Keltner on March 7 at a Rockford hotel during an attempt to arrest Brown on a federal warrant.

Brown could face the death penalty or life in prison.

The Springfield man was wanted for burglaries throughout Central Illinois including Bloomington.

Brown’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 14.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…