Crime & Safety
Joliet Man Shot for Dragging Cop in Shoplifting Case: Police
Romeoville police said they were forced to shoot one of the suspects when he attempted to drive away with an police officer caught in the getaway car's door.
Three Joliet men allegedly shoplifting at the Kohl's store on Weber Road in Romeoville Thursday night led to a dramatic police shooting as they tried to flee, reports said.
Police were called to the scene at about 10:10 p.m. and encountered one of the men as he was leaving the 261 S. Weber Road store.
Robert Russell, 51, was confronted by the officers and ran toward a waiting car, according to Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey, in a story published by the Sun-Times News Group. The officers gave chase, and one tried to grab Russell as he got into the car driven by Charles Hinch, 52, only to have Russell close the door on his arm and Hinch start to drive, the report said.
The second officer ordered Hinch to stop but he continued driving, dragging the first officer along the way, the story said. He fired into the car three or four times and struck Hinch, Turvey told the Sun-Times Group.
Hinch, of the 400 block of Pico Street, was taken the Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, and later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. The injured officer was also taken to Adventist Bolingbrook for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the story said.
Russell, 509 Francis St., and a third man, Gerald Chamberlain, 28, 1319 Englewood Ave., were arrested, according to the report.
Russell has been charged with attempted murder, felony retail theft and obstructing a police officer. Chamberlain has been charged with felony retail theft.
Both are being held in the Will County jail pending a bond hearing.
Robert Russell, 51, was confronted by the officers and ran toward a waiting car, according to Romeoville Police Chief Mark Turvey, in a story published by the Sun-Times News Group. The officers gave chase, and one tried to grab Russell as he got into the car driven by Charles Hinch, 52, only to have Russell close the door on his arm and Hinch start to drive, the report said.
The second officer ordered Hinch to stop but he continued driving, dragging the first officer along the way, the story said. He fired into the car three or four times and struck Hinch, Turvey told the Sun-Times Group.
Hinch, of the 400 block of Pico Street, was taken the Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, and later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. The injured officer was also taken to Adventist Bolingbrook for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, the story said.
Russell, 509 Francis St., and a third man, Gerald Chamberlain, 28, 1319 Englewood Ave., were arrested, according to the report.
Russell has been charged with attempted murder, felony retail theft and obstructing a police officer. Chamberlain has been charged with felony retail theft.
Both are being held in the Will County jail pending a bond hearing.
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