Two suspects are in custody in the shooting death of an Illinois police sergeant and the wounding of her partner earlier this week.
Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, 49, was killed and Officer Tyler Bailey, 27, was critically wounded Wednesday night when responded to a call about barking dogs left unattended in a car in Bradley, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Rittmanic and Bailey found the dogs in a car in a parking lot at a Comfort Inn and went to the room where the car’s owner was registered, but the people inside opened fire. Rittmanic and Bailey were both taken to nearby hospitals, where Rittmanic was pronounced dead and Bailey underwent surgery for severe head injuries. He was still in very critical condition on Thursday, according to WLS.
Police launched a manhunt for Darius D. Sullivan, named as the suspect, and Xandria Harris, who was believed to be in the hotel room at the time of the shooting and was named a person of interest. After a 36-hour search, Indiana State Police said that Sullivan was arrested Friday morning after US Marshals and a SWAT team executed a search warrant in North Manchester, near Fort Wayne and about 125 miles from Bradley. Police said Sullivan and another person — both from Kankakee, a town neighboring Bradley — were taken into custody without incident and that narcotics and weapons were found inside the house.
Sullivan is being held in Wabash County on Illinois warrants charging him with first degree murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery with a firearm and is awaiting extradition, according to Indiana State Police.
Police also said that two other people from Kankakee were arrested about six hours earlier in Rochester, Indiana, after officers spotted a car traveling the wrong way on a one way street and initiated a traffic stop. There was a brief chase before the two men were arrested, charged with possession of stolen property, resisting law enforcement, and possession of a handgun without a license. Investigators did not have answers about the relationships between Sullivan and the other Kankakee men who were arrested.
As for Harris, authorities said she surrendered to Bradley Police Friday afternoon and has a court appearance scheduled for Monday. She is charged with murder, according to jail records.
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[Featured image: Sgt Marlene Rittmanic/Bradley Police Department]
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