1 of 2 suspects in shooting of Illinois officers arrested

Authorities say a man suspected in the shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel has been taken into custody

APTOPIX Officers Shot Illinois (DAILY JOURNAL)

A man suspected in the shooting of one police officer and wounding of another at a northern Illinois hotel has been taken into custody, the Illinois State Police said Friday.

The agency said in a statement that Darius Sullivan was found Friday morning, a day after authorities warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

The statement did not provide details of where Sullivan was found. It said he will be transported brought back to Kankakee County, where the shooting occurred late Wednesday.

Authorities are still searching for 26-year-old Xandria A. Harris, of Bradley, who investigators believe was at the hotel when the shootings happened, the state police said.

The two officers were speaking to people in a room at a Comfort Inn along a highway in Kankakee County when they were shot, according to the county sheriff’s office.

The officers were taken to nearby hospitals, where 49-year-old Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic died. The other officer — identified by the Illinois State Police as 27-year-old Tyler J. Bailey — underwent surgery was listed in critical condition on Thursday, according to the Bradley Police Department.

The officers were at the hotel to investigate a report of dogs that were barking in an unattended vehicle in the parking lot, the sheriff’s office said. They found the room where the vehicle’s possible owner was staying and were shot while talking to the people in that room, it said.

Authorities arrested two other people Thursday on charges alleging they impeded the search for Sullivan and a woman also suspected in the shootings.

Nichele Newton-Carroll, 43, and Jelman Sullivan, 21, face charges of obstructing justice/leaving the state, the (Kankakee) Daily Journal reported. Neither had an attorney listed Friday in court or jail records.

Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe identified Newton-Carroll as Sullivan's mother. Rowe said he is not sure of the connection between Jelman Sullivan and Darius Sullivan.

The hotel shootings came hours after a sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot while responding to a motorist assist call on a highway near Mill Shoals, roughly 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Bradley.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Sean Riley was found dead by a second officer who later arrived at the scene, and the deputy’s squad car was later found abandoned on I-64, police said. Authorities arrested a Kentucky man suspected in that attack and a carjacking in Missouri