Bond Denied For Suspect In Cop, Former CHA Officer Murders
UPDATED 11/30/10 - 2:13 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) - A judge denied bond for a 19-year-old parolee charged in the fatal shooting of an on-duty Chicago police officer and a retired CHA cop.
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Timothy Herring Jr. has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Chicago Police Officer Michael Flisk, 46, and Stephen Peters, a 44-year-old retired Chicago Housing Authority and south suburban police officer.
Herring, 19, appeared before Cook County Criminal Court Judge Ramon Ocasio, who denied bond on Tuesday.
Cook County prosecutors said Herring saw Flisk and Peters at a garage in the 8100 block of South Burnham Avenue, after Peters' mustang had been burglarized.
Flisk was processing the scene for evidence and Herring allegedly approached Flisk and Peters to tell them he knew who did it, according to prosecutors. But Peters told Herring it didn't matter, because they had already recovered fingerprints from the scene.
Herring, who lives across the alley, allegedly walked away, turned around and shot both men, prosecutors said. He then started to remove a garbage can where he had stashed some items he had stripped from the car and saw one of the victims was still moving.
Herring allegedly walked back up to the victims and shot each of them in the head, then moved the garbage cans behind another house.
Herring had every reason to fear Flisk's expertise at a crime scene. A meticulous and skilled forensics man, Flisk put away countless bad guys and was about to be commended for cracking the case of a serial burglar who targeted the Beverly community this summer, his co-workers said Monday as they paid tribute to his skill, determination and sense of humor.
At a crime scene, Flisk could "think like the offender and place himself there and know where they put their hands, and dust there and come up with quality stuff," said fellow evidence technician John Murphy. Flisk used so much powder in his search for clues that Murphy once came back from a scene with him looking "like a glazed donut," Murphy laughed.
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But Flisk was humble enough that his locker was full of commendations he'd never taken home or told his wife or four kids about, colleagues said. The family was presented with a check for $15,000 Monday, the first installment of a $50,000 donation made by the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the Hundred Club of Chicago.
"We've really lost a good officer," police Lt. Bob Dubiel said, adding that Flisk's death shows there are no safe jobs in the Chicago Police Department.
Peters' family was certainly grateful for the efforts that saw Herring charged.
"We've known his family for years," Peters' father Robert Peters said, adding that Peters' mother often said hello to Herring's uncle when she saw him in the street.
"He left a lot of evidence behind, but we're very, very, glad they caught him."
Peters' family also thanked Townsend, whom Herring allegedly tried to kill in June, for contacting police after Friday's murders.
Speaking Monday, Townsend alleged Herring shot him as he was standing outside his home on the 8000 block of Burnham Avenue this summer. Townsend, who was hospitalized for a month and walks with a cane as result of the shooting, said he didn't identify Herring to police at the time because his mother was afraid of reprisals.
But "when I heard what happened to Stephen I had to do something," he said. "I hope he never gets out...I hope he gets the death penalty."
A co-defendant, Timothy Willis, was ordered held on $250,000 bond Tuesday. He allegedly stashed Herring's gun along with some stereo wires from the car and braids that Herring had cut off to disguise himself after the shootings, according to prosecutors.
Willis, 22 of the 8300 block of South Crandon, was charged Monday with obstruction of justice and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Herring was sentenced to six years behind bars for an armed robbery in 2007 but was released in April on parole. He was locked up again in July after testing positive for marijuana, according to Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman.
On Sept. 14, Herring was freed again to his home, across the alley from Friday's murder scene, records show.
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He was also a suspect in a separate shooting case in June. He was charged in that case Monday, accused of trying to kill 41-year-old Fernando Townsend just a block from where Flisk and Peters were shot.
Flisk's fellow officers "worked non-stop, even in the face of extreme grief," police Supt. Jody Weis said as he announced the charges against Herring and an alleged accomplice. "All of Chicago owes them a debt of gratitude as they helped get a killer off the streets."
Newradio 780's Craig Dellimore reports, Weis and Mayor Richard M. Daley said that laws need to be changed to ensure that offenders who use a gun in a crime should never be released from prison early.
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Visitation will be held for Flisk Tuesday from 3 to 9 p.m. at Brady and Gill Funeral Home, 2929 W. 87th St., Evergreen Park. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 S. Western Ave., Chicago.
Visitation for Peters will be held Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rayner & Sons Funeral Home, 318 E. 71st St. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Rayner & Sons Funeral Home.
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