Charges have been announced against a homicide suspect and a woman after the two were arrested following a massive day-long police manhunt in Lake Barrington Tuesday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 11:55 a.m. Tuesday to a hit-and-run traffic crash on Route 14 at Pepper Road in Lake Barrington.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived in the area and began checking for the offending vehicle in the hit-and-run, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
The vehicle, a newer-model dark blue Chevrolet pickup truck, was located abandoned at Swiss Automation, 1020 West Northwest Highway in Barrington.
It was determined the abandoned vehicle was being driven by Osceola L. Little, 38, of Everett, Washington.
Little was wanted in connection with a homicide that occurred in Chicago on Monday, Covelli said.
It was also learned that earlier in the day Little fled from law enforcement during a vehicle pursuit, Covelli said. Information was relayed that Little was believed to be armed and dangerous.
A large perimeter was established with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies.
Nearby public and private schools, as well as municipal governments, were notified and went into lockdown.
Covelli said video surveillance was obtained from an area business that showed Little exiting the crashed vehicle with a duffle bag and a woman exiting the vehicle with a backpack. Both fled on foot.
The sheriff’s office deployed dozens of deputies, including specialized units, to conduct a coordinated search aided by numerous local police officers.
The operation was managed from the sheriff’s mobile command vehicle.
“As the sheriff’s office runs its own dispatch center, emergency dispatch staff was able to be allocated to the command vehicle, which provided greater intelligence gathering and faster information relayed to units in the field,” Covelli said.
The female who fled from the crash, Luisa Sanchez, 22, of Cary, was located around 2:10 p.m. and taken into custody at the Speedway gas station in the area of Route 14 and Kelsey Road.
Sheriff’s detectives determined Sanchez hid a firearm inside of the gas station, Covelli said.
Members of the sheriff’s office and Chicago Police Department located the firearm hidden inside a bathroom air vent.
An area extending from Kelsey Road to the west, Route 22 to the north, Route 14 to the south, and North Harbor Road to the east, was systematically searched by over 10 drones, 20 canine teams, an Illinois State Police aircraft, sheriff’s deputies and area police departments.
Covelli said Little was seen by one of the units searching the area around 6:20 p.m.
Little immediately ran when confronted and sheriff’s deputies and area police officers pursued him on foot.
Little ran into an occupied industrial building in the 21900 block of Pepper Road in Lake Barrington.
Sheriff’s deputies were able to contain Little to an office room in the building and safely evacuate the employees who were working inside, Covelli said.
Members of the sheriff’s office tactical response team and sheriff’s negotiators began communications with Little.
“After skillful negotiations, Little surrendered at approximately 8:15 p.m.,” Covelli said.
A further investigation showed the firearm hidden by Sanchez belongs to Little and it appears to be the firearm used in the Chicago homicide, Covelli said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges of felon in possession of a firearm against Little.
Sanchez was charged with obstructing justice, aiding a fugitive and unlawful possession of a firearm without a FOID.
Little and Sanchez are scheduled to appear in First Appearance Court on Wednesday morning.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office is filing petitions to detain Little and Sanchez in custody pending trial.
Additional Lake County charges are likely and charges are also likely to be filed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and Chicago Police Department.
“I could not be prouder of my team’s relentless determination during this fugitive search. We were able to deploy dozens of sheriff’s deputies to quickly establish a perimeter and we cannot thank our municipal and state police partners enough, for their response with dozens of resources,” Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.
“Both suspects are now in custody, a direct result of our collective strength, expert negotiation skills, and dedication to public safety,” Idleburg said.
Idleburg thanked local and state law enforcement partners who responded to the scene to assist.
Those included the Arlington Heights Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Barrington Hills Police Department, Barrington Police Department, Buffalo Grove Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, Des Plaines Police Department, Fox River Grove Police Department, Hawthorn Woods Police Department, Illinois State Police, Kane County Sheriff’s Office, Kildeer Police Department, Lake Forest Police Department, Lake Zurich Police Department, Libertyville Police Department, Mundelein Police Department, Palatine Police Department, Rolling Meadows Police Department, Schaumburg Police Department, South Barrington Police Department, Tower Lakes Police Department, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Vernon Hills Police Department, Wauconda Police Department and Zion Police Department.
The sheriff’s office said the Salvation Army responded to provide water and food to all of the first responders at the scene.