Judge denies temporary release of murder suspect and girlfriend after massive, day-long manhunt in Lake Barrington

A judge has denied the provisional release of a man suspected of murdering his brother and girlfriend, who helped him after a day-long, large-scale police manhunt in Lake Barrington.

Lake County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Facklam said Osceola L. Little, 38, of Everett, Washington, is wanted in connection with a murder that occurred Monday in Chicago.

During that incident, Little allegedly shot his brother, 33-year-old Robert Little of Chicago, in the 4800 block of West West End Avenue.

Chicago police have marked a vehicle, a late-model dark blue Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, as a suspect in this case.

Christopher Covelli, deputy chief of the Lake County Sheriff's Office, said Little fled from police during a chase in a Chicago suburb on Tuesday morning.

Facklam said officers called off the pursuit after the pickup truck driven by Little was traveling in the wrong lane, ignoring red lights and driving 80 mph in a 35 mph zone.

The truck had also fled from police in the Barrington area shortly before being involved in a hit-and-run accident Tuesday around 11:55 a.m. on Route 14 at Pepper Road in Lake Barrington.

Facklam said Little was driving recklessly and too fast to elude officers who were searching for the pickup truck following a flock camera alert that spotted him in the Barrington area, leading to the collision.

Sheriff's officers arrived in the area and began searching for the pickup truck. It was soon found abandoned at Swiss Automation, 1020 West Northwest Highway in Barrington.

Facklam said it was believed the pickup truck had run out of gas.

Little was reported to be believed to be armed and dangerous. He and a second person, Luisa Sanchez, 22, of Cary, the passenger in the truck, fled the vehicle, Covelli said.

According to Lake County Assistant District Attorney Dino Katris, Sanchez has been dating Little since February.

With the assistance of local law enforcement, a large security area was cordoned off.

The surrounding public and private schools as well as the local governments were notified and imposed a curfew.

Covelli said vVideo surveillance obtained from a local business showed Little exiting the crashed vehicle with a duffel bag and Sanchez exiting the vehicle with a backpack. Both fled on foot.

The sheriff's office dispatched dozens of deputies, including special forces, to conduct a coordinated search with the assistance of numerous local law enforcement officers.

The operation was directed from the sheriff's mobile emergency vehicle.

“Because the Sheriff’s Office operates its own dispatch center, emergency dispatch personnel were able to be assigned to the dispatch vehicle, allowing for better information gathering and faster dissemination of information to units on the ground,” Covelli said.

Sanchez was found around 2:10 p.m. and taken into custody at the Speedway gas station in the area of ​​Route 14 and Kelsey Road.

Sheriff's detectives found that Sanchez had hidden a firearm in the gas station that she had gotten from Little, Covelli said.

Sheriff's office and Chicago police officers discovered the firearm hidden in a bathroom vent.

An area stretching from Kelsey Road to the west, Route 22 to the north, Route 14 to the south and North Harbor Road to the east was systematically searched by over 10 drones, 20 canine units, an Illinois State Police aircraft, sheriff's deputies and regional police departments.

Covelli said One of the units that searched the area around 6:20 p.m. saw little

When confronted, Little immediately ran and deputies and local police pursued him on foot.

Little ran into an occupied industrial building in the 21900 block of Pepper Road in Lake Barrington.

Sheriff's deputies were able to get Little into an office in the building and safely evacuate the employees working there. Covelli said.

Members of the Sheriff's Office Tactical Response Team and sheriff's negotiators began communicating with Little.

“After skillful negotiations, Little surrendered around 8:15 p.m.,” Covelli said.

Further investigation revealed that the gun hidden by Sanchez belonged to Little and that it appeared to be the weapon used in the Chicago murder, Covelli said.

The Lake County District Attorney's Office charged Little with illegal possession of a firearm.

Sanchez was charged with obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting an escape, and illegal possession of a firearm without a FOID certificate.

The Lake County District Attorney's Office filed a motion to remand Little and Sanchez in custody pending trial.

According to Facklam, the investigation revealed that Little and Sanchez had met before the manhunt and Little had made statements to the woman about the murder.

They hatched a plan for Little to escape and hide in a house in Cary, Facklam said. Sanchez used her phone to give Little directions to the house, which they planned to drive to together.

“Her actions, particularly in aiding and abetting the escape … simply because she was not driving … she contrived and willingly and actively engaged in conduct that was intended to prevent Little's apprehension, to assist him in hiding, to assist him in escaping,” Facklam said during a detention hearing.

During a separate detention hearing, Katris described Little's criminal past and argued for his detention pending trial.

“[He’s] a threat to public safety. This is a crime involving a weapon, a high-speed chase through two counties, a massive police operation to search for this defendant suspected of murder,” Katris said, adding that the murder weapon was in Little's possession.

Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted both requests to remand Little and Sanchez in custody pending trial.

The judge said Sanchez committed not just one but a series of crimes in aiding Little's escape attempt.

Potkonjak said there was clear and convincing evidence that Little committed the crime, which, combined with his criminal history, showed there were no release conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the community.

Covelli said the two will likely face additional charges in Lake County and that the Cook County District Attorney's Office and Chicago Police Department will also file charges.

“I couldn't be prouder of my team's tireless determination during this manhunt for the fugitive. We were able to deploy dozens of deputies to quickly establish a perimeter, and we can't thank our partners at city and state police enough for their response with dozens of resources,” said Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg.

“Both suspects are now in custody, a direct result of our collective strength, our excellent negotiating skills and our commitment to public safety,” Idleburg said.

Idleburg thanked local and state law enforcement partners who responded to the scene and provided assistance.

These included the Arlington Heights Police Department, Aurora Police Department, Barrington Hills Police Department, Barrington Police Department, Buffalo Grove Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Department, Des Plaines Police Department, Fox River Grove Police Department, Hawthorn Woods Police Department, Illinois State Police, Kane County Sheriff's Office, Kildeer Police Department, Lake Forest Police Department, Lake Zurich Police Department, Libertyville Police Department, Mundelein Police Department, Palatine Police Department, Rolling Meadows Police Department, Schaumburg Police Department, South Barrington Police Department, Tower Lakes Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Vernon Hills Police Department, Wauconda Police Department and Zion Police Department.

The sheriff's office said the Salvation Army responded to provide water and food to all first responders on site.