Lower than every week earlier than a crash-and-grab housebreaking crew killed an harmless man on the Magnificent Mile final Thursday, one of many males now charged with that homicide donned a “peacekeeper” uniform and posed for a one-on-one image with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Whereas that’s troubling, some regulation enforcement specialists are extra involved that the accused man was in a position to stand immediately subsequent to the state’s strongest government regardless of having excellent warrants in 4 states.
CWBChicago first reported on 35-year-old Kellen McMiller’s function as a “peacekeeper” final weekend. Now, we now have extra element, together with an image of McMiller posing with Pritzker—a photograph that has apparently been scrubbed from the state’s on-line press launch concerning the West Facet occasion.
Father-to-be killed
Simply earlier than 5 a.m. on September 11, a gaggle of burglars backed a pickup truck right into a show window on the Louis Vuitton retailer at 919 North Michigan Avenue. Video reveals a number of males working by means of the shattered storefront and returning with trash baggage full of merchandise. Prosecutors stated items price almost $700,000 have been stolen.
Chicago police arrived because the crew was loading into getaway vehicles. A kind of automobiles, a black Kia, sped down Michigan Avenue at 77 mph, working pink lights till slamming right into a Honda CR-V at Ohio Avenue, prosecutors declare. The motive force of the Honda, 40-year-old Mark Arceta of Skokie, had a inexperienced gentle and was heading to his closing shift at Northwestern College earlier than beginning paternity depart. He was killed within the crash, and his spouse gave delivery to their son quickly after.
Prosecutors stated McMiller was considered one of 5 burglars within the Kia. He remained hospitalized yesterday for accidents from the crash.
Simply six days earlier, McMiller and Pritzker posed side-by-side for an image because the governor met with “peacekeepers” in Englewood. In a press launch issued later that day, the governor’s workplace known as the group “‘trusted messengers’ locally.”
“It’s of us like these that we want extra of doing the arduous work of neighborhood violence prevention,” Pritzker stated on Fb, “not troops on the bottom to undermine efforts combating crime.”
That press launch additionally included a photograph of McMiller posing with Pritzker, but it surely was rapidly eliminated after officers discovered that he was being charged in reference to Arceta’s dying. Regardless of its elimination, the picture remained accessible on Google till earlier this week.
Former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel is skeptical concerning the effectiveness of “peacekeeping” packages and known as the governor’s advance crew “incompetent” for permitting Pritzker to pose at an anti-violence occasion with a person needed in 4 states.
“Over time, they’ve allotted tens of millions of {dollars} to the peacekeepers program, but there aren’t any constructive outcomes to display from an information perspective,” Weitzel stated Wednesday. “It seems to be one other feel-good program, with many contributors having prior convictions for violent felonies.”
“The funds spent on the peacekeepers program may very well be higher directed towards police operations, gear, coaching, schooling, and know-how. These investments would considerably influence crime discount, of that I’m sure,” the retired chief added.
Instructed that Pritzker posed for an image with McMiller, Weitzel replied, “The governor’s superior crew is incompetent.”
“I do know that some individuals strategy politicians and ask to take an image, but when the picture is posed, it reveals an absolute lack of due diligence on the a part of the governor’s crew, for my part.”
When CPD introduced prices final weekend in opposition to McMiller—mistakenly figuring out him as “Keller McMillan”—and 6 different males in reference to the deadly crash-and-grab, the division stated he had 4 excellent warrants. In accordance with Prepare dinner County Circuit Court docket information, three of these have been from out of state: one every in Florida, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Precisely what McMiller is needed for in these states was not instantly clear. Nonetheless, a 2021 NBC Miami information story reveals he and a feminine companion have been tased by police and arrested in a caught-on-camera altercation whereas visiting South Seashore.
The Miami Herald stated McMiller was accused of throwing a bottle of Hennessy at an officer’s squad automobile earlier than getting right into a confrontation with a cop that ended with McMiller being despatched to the bottom by a taser discharge. He was charged with battery of an officer, resisting an officer with violence, and carrying an open container of alcohol, the outlet reported.
Domestically, McMiller is charged with homicide through the fee of a forcible felony, housebreaking, and felony theft in reference to the crash-and-grab and dying of Arceta.
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