Suspect Arrested In Shooting That Killed One Bradley Police Officer, Wounded Another
BRADLEY, Ill. (CBS) – A man wanted in the shooting death of a Bradley police officer and the wounding of another was arrested Friday morning in rural northeast Indiana.
A woman wanted in connection with the incident, 26-year-old Xandria Harris has turned herself in.
Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield said 25-year-old Darius Sullivan was arrested on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery in the Wednesday shooting that killed Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, and left Officer Tyler Bailey in critical condition.
Around 3:30 a.m. Friday, Fulton County sheriff's officers spotted a car going the wrong way on a one-way street in Rochester, Indiana, leading to a chase, followed by a foot pursuit, according to Fifield. Two people were arrested without incident, and a handgun and drugs were recovered from the scene.
About six hours later, a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, with help from several local law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams, executed a search warrant in nearby North Manchester, Indiana. Two people inside the home were arrested without incident, including Sullivan.
Fifield said authorities are still investigating why Sullivan was at the house, or what connection he has to the three other people who were taken into custody at the house and after the earlier traffic stop.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Sullivan was arrested in North Manchester, Indiana, near Fort Wayne. Illinois State Police said they are making arrangements to return Sullivan to Kankakee County.
Sullivan is being held at the North Manchester Police Department, and will be transferred to the Wabash County Sheriff's Office to await extradition back to Kankakee County.
Meantime, Xandria Harris, the second suspect in the shooting that killed Rittmanic and wounded Bailey, turned herself to authorities. According to her attorney, Harris went to authorities late Friday afternoon. Harris' attorney said she maintains her innocence. She is due at the Kankakee Courthouse Monday afternoon.
Around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, Rittmanic and Bailey responded to the Comfort Inn hotel at 1500 N. Illinois Highway 50 in Bradley, Illinois, after a call reporting dogs barking in an unattended vehicle in the parking lot.
Police said the officers located the vehicle and the possible owner inside a hotel room. Both officers were shot after trying to talk with the people inside the room, Bradley police confirmed.
Rittmanic, 49, died at the hospital.
Bailey, 27, was in critical condition at the hospital.
Sullivan has a criminal record in Kankakee County, including a guilty plea to a 2015 theft charge. He also was charged with burglary in 2018, and the case remains open. He also was charged with misdemeanor battery earlier this year.
Meantime, a procession in Rittmanic's honor was held Thursday afternoon as her body was taken from the morgue to Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais.
