Chicago Tribune
ROCKFORD, Ill. — A federal grand jury indicted a Springfield man accused of killing a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy who had been working with the U.S. Marshals Service when he was shot to death earlier this month.
Floyd Brown, 39, was indicted on one count of murder for allegedly killing Jacob Keltner, 35, one count of illegal possession of firearms by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Keltner was serving with the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force when Brown allegedly fired at officers who attempted to serve an arrest warrant on him at a Rockford motel.
Brown was expected to appear in federal court in Rockford on Wednesday for an arraignment.
On March 7, Brown allegedly used a high-powered rifle to fire at officers who had knocked on the door of the motel room where he and his girlfriend were staying before he jumped out of the third-floor window and shot Keltner in the head, authorities have said. Brown then allegedly fled and was stopped when a state trooper rammed his car and sent it into a field near Lincoln.
Police allegedly found firearms and ammunition in the motel room, according to court documents. Brown is also facing first-degree murder charges filed by the Winnebago County state’s attorney’s office.
Brown had been wanted on warrants out of Champaign, McLean and Sangamon counties. In one case, he allegedly fled police investigating a burglary and crashed his car, injuring at least two people. At the time, Brown was on parole after serving time for a series of burglaries in McLean and Macon counties in 2011. He had been arrested then by a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force. Brown was sentenced to 13 years in prison and, with credit for good behavior, was released in January 2018. He also had served prison time in the 2000s for convictions of unlawful restraint, violating an order of protection and illegally possessing a firearm, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Keltner had been with the department for 13 years, according to the McHenry County sheriff’s office. According to media accounts, Keltner in years past won commendations from the sheriff’s office for investigations and for arresting dozens of intoxicated drivers.
Keltner was the first McHenry County deputy to die from wounds suffered in the line of duty since 2015.
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