Read News Report: 2 held in Ill. deputy shooting, hostage standoff
Officer Down: Chief Deputy Tommy Martin
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A Douglas County sheriff’s deputy shot during a June crime spree that included a bank standoff has died and prosecutors planned to file more charges Wednesday in the case, authorities said.Tommy Martin, 59, died about 11:30 p.m Tuesday at an Urbana hospital, Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup said in a statement.
Two Chicago men pleaded not guilty last week to charges relating to the June 21 spree that included shooting Martin in the face and torso. A spokeswoman for the Douglas County State’s Attorney’s office said additional charges were to be added later Wednesday.
William B. Thompson, 26, and Yusef Kareem Brown, 23, already were charged with attempted murder. Thompson also faces charges of taking hostages at a bank in Arcola, about 150 miles south of Chicago. All the hostages were safely released.
Martin, a native of Tuscola, had worked for the Sheriff’s Department since 2004, joining newly elected Sheriff Charlie McGrew. The sheriff has said the two worked together for a number of years with the Illinois State Police.
''He was the first person I thought of when I needed a chief deputy when I was sworn in,’' McGrew said in an earlier interview.
The string of crimes began, authorities have said, when Brown and Thompson fled a traffic stop on Interstate 57. The two then robbed a house and stole two vehicles before one of them shot Martin as they drove past him.
The suspects then allegedly abandoned the truck and drove away in a van.
After a high-speed chase, Brown was arrested but police said Thompson went into the First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust in Arcola and took hostages. Thompson released four hostages over seven hours, then peacefully left the bank with the last hostage.
At a hearing Friday, State Police investigator Matt McCormick testified that the men admitted during interviews that they broke into a home in rural northern Douglas County on June 21. McCormick said Thompson also admitted to later shooting at a state police car during the high-speed chase.
Funeral arrangements for Martin are pending.
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