First Court Appearance Postponed For Man Charged With Killing Deputy At Rockford Hotel
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The man arrested for killing a McHenry County Sheriff's deputy at a Rockford hotel originally was supposed to make his first court appearance Friday in federal court, but officials said that hearing has been postponed because he has not yet been transferred from his cell in central Illinois.
Floyd Brown, 39, was arrested near downstate Lincoln, after an hourslong standoff with police along Interstate 55. He had fled the scene of the Extended Stay America hotel in Rockford after he allegedly shot and killed Deputy Jacob Keltner.
The deputy was assigned to a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force as they were serving an arrest warrant on Brown. While the task force was trying to get into Brown's third floor hotel room, Brown shot at them through the door.
Brown then jumped out a window, and shot Keltner in the head in the parking lot. He fled the scene in his Mercury Grand Marquis before other officers responding to a call about the shooting could arrive to secure the scene.
Brown has been charged with one count of murder in federal court, because he was shooting at federal agents. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
He had been scheduled to make an initial appearance before a federal judge in Rockford at 10 a.m., but that hearing was later stricken. Authorities said he had not yet been transferred from custody in Logan County to the federal lockup in Rockford. His initial hearing has been rescheduled for Monday at 1 p.m., and Brown has been assigned a public defender.
According to the charges in the case, Brown's girlfriend was in the hotel room at the time of the shooting, and was trying to flee, when Brown opened fire with a high-powered assault rifle, and shot through the hotel room door. She was wounded in the attack, and was being questioned by authorities.
Brown allegedly shot Keltner while fleeing the hotel. Keltner, 35, was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead hours later. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Fellow law enforcement officers said he comes from a long line of service and was a dedicated family man who is truly going to be missed.
"He's a very hard-working, loving, caring deputy that has been with the sheriff's office for almost 13 years; and there's no adequate words to express what a great person he is," McHenry County Sheriff's Det. Sandra Rogers said.
Squad cars stretched for miles Thursday night, as Keltner's body was escorted from the hospital to the coroner's office. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
