Parolee Charged With Killing Cop, Former CHA Officer
Updated: 11/29/10 8:58 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - A 19-year-old parolee on Monday was charged in the fatal shooting of Chicago police evidence technician Michael Flisk and a robbery victim he was assisting last week.
Flisk, 46, and Stephen Peters, a 44-year-old retired Chicago Housing Authority and south suburban police officer, were found dead Friday afternoon in the 8100 block of South Burnham Avenue.
Flisk, a decorated officer, was called to Peters' mother's home to investigate a theft from Stephen's red Ford Mustang Cobra, police said. Both men were gunned down at the South Side garage.
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Charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder was 19-year-old Timothy Herring, who lived near the mother's home. Herring had previously spent time in prison for an armed robbery conviction and was paroled in September.
At a Monday news conference, Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis praised detectives who "worked tirelessly, non-stop, even in the face of extreme grief" for their fallen comrade, Flisk. He also credited members of the community who "helped get a killer off the street."
A second individual, Timothy Willis, 22, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice, Weis told reporters. Officials would not discuss his role in the crime.
A police official said Herring committed the original burglary, and shot Flisk and Peters when he saw they were at the scene of his crime.
"We believe the motive was trying to hide an earlier burglary. The subject simply did not want to be caught for doing a burglary. He was already on parole as it was. And didn't want to be apprehended for an earlier burglary," Police Cmdr Keith Calloway said.
Herring was picked up at 5:40 p.m. Saturday at his home, according to a law enforcement source. The 19-year-old was released from prison on Sept. 14. He was in prison for a parole violation, but had previously been convicted of armed robbery in 2007 and sentenced to six years in prison. Neighbors say he robbed a liquor store.
A search warrant was obtained and executed at the man's home on Saturday, according to the source.
Autopsies on Saturday determined both men died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. Both deaths were ruled homicides.
Supt. Weis said it happened so fast that neither man had time to reach for their own guns.
Those who knew Officer Flisk say the department has suffered a tremendous loss.
"He's one of those guys that, when you guys met up in an office together, it would be a pleasure to be with him because he'd always make you laugh," said Officer John Zalewski. "He always had a great story. He always talked about his kids and his wife."
Herring is also charged with one count each of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm in connection with a June 18 shooting that happened at 8034 S. Burnham Ave., Cook County State's Attorney spokesman Andy Conklin said.
In that shooting, a male victim was shot in the abdomen and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition after two people came out of a gangway about 12:40 a.m. and fired at him, police said at the time.
A neighbor of Herring's said the young man had been in trouble but was surprised to learn of the charges against him.
"I knew him ever since he was a little boy," John Walker told CBS 2. "He was pretty decent, you know. Any average kid, they'll get into a little trouble."
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
