UPDATED: Grand jury indicts accused cop killer

Posted on March 27, 2019
FLOYD BROWN BPD
The charges are piling up for accused cop killer Floyd Brown. (Bloomington Police Department photos)

 

By Howard Packowitz

WINNEBAGO COUNTY – A grand jury has handed up a 75 count indictment against Floyd Brown. He’s the Springfield man accused of shooting to death a McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy March 7, then leading authorities on a high speed chase that resulted in his capture on I-55 near Lincoln.

The indictments mean the grand jury believes prosecutors have enough evidence to try Brown for fatally shooting Deputy Jacob Keltner at a Rockford hotel.

If found guilty, Brown, 39, faces the death penalty because Keltner was serving as a federal agent with the U.S. Marshals task force.

Task force members were trying to arrest Brown on warrants, including for a series of residential burglaries in Bloomington-Normal, and for reckless driving.  He got away just before Christmas after reportedly crashing into cars on Veterans Parkway near G.E. Road.

In a news release, the Winnebago County State’s Attorney says prosecutions in state and federal court will run parallel to each other.

Brown’s being held without bond.

Here is the breakdown of the charges included in the indictment:

  • First Degree Murder (of a Peace Officer)- 60 Counts
  • Sentence: Mandatory Natural Life in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Attempt First Degree Murder (of a Peace Officer)- 3 Counts
  • Sentence: 20-80 Years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Aggravated Battery with a Firearm- 1 Count
  • Sentence: 6-30 Years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Armed Habitual Criminal- 2 Counts
  • Sentence: 6-30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm- 4 Counts
  • Sentence: 4-15 Years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon- 2 Counts
  • Sentence: 3-14 Years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Aggravated Unlawful Restraint- 1 Count
  • Sentence: 2-5 Years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
  • Possession of a Firearm without a Firearm Owner’s ID- 2 Counts
  • Sentence: 2-10 Years in the Illinois Department of Corrections

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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