By Ron DeBrock
Source The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.
GRANITE CITY, IL—A Madison County man charged with two felonies in March has been arrested in the Friday death of a deputy about 200 miles north of the Riverbend.
Henry County State's Attorney Catherine Runty has announced that Daylon K. Richardson, 22, of Granite City, has been charged with two counts of murder, one count of unlawful possession of weapon by a felon and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding.
Richardson is accused of fleeing police Friday and crashing into a Knox County Sheriff's Office deputy. The deputy was trying to deter Richardson by setting spike strips on U.S. 150 and 150 Avenue in rural Henry County near Alpha, just north of the Knox County line.
The deceased deputy has been identified as Nicholas D. Weist, 34, who joined the department in 2018.
According to authorities, at about 8 a.m. Friday Galesburg Police received a 9-1-1 call of a suspect with a gun at a Circle K gas station in Galesburg. Officers located a vehicle believed to be related to the incident and tried to stop it, but the driver fled north out of Galesburg on U.S. 150.
Just inside Henry County, Richardson allegedly struck a Knox County deputy's vehicle before crashing in a field north of the collision. Richardson reportedly was apprehended after a brief foot pursuit.
The Illinois State Police are investigating the incident. On Friday, ISP Capt. Christopher Endress said Richardson had active warrants for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, aggravated fleeing and eluding, crimes against persons and mob action "out of southern Illinois."
In March, Richardson was charged in Madison County with unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 2 felony, and aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, a Class 4 felony.
On March 9 he allegedly was found by Granite City Police to have a .223 caliber rifle and driving a Jaguar X. According to court documents, he tried to flee a Granite City Police officer, reaching speeds in excess of 21 miles above the posted speed limit. His bail was set at $80,000.
Richardson has a 2017 conviction for vehicular hijacking out of St. Clair County, making it illegal for him to possess weapons.
Knox County District Attorney Jeremy Karlin said there is evidence a gun was fired from the fleeing vehicle during the pursuit, according to the Galesburg Register-Mail.
ISP Director Brendan Kelly and Knox County Sheriff David Clague both expressed condolences to the deputy's family.
"There is no safety or justice without the law," Kelly said in a released statement. "There is no law without law enforcement, and there is no law enforcement without brave souls like this Knox County Deputy."
Richardson is being held at the Henry County Jail with no bond. His preliminary hearing has been set for 2 p.m. May 9.
Assisting in Friday's pursuit and arrest were sheriff's departments from Knox, Henry, Warren, McDonough and Fulton counties, as well as Geneseo Police. Nearly 30 vehicles from area law enforcement agencies escorted the deputy's body to Watson-Thomas Funeral Home in Galesburg.
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