On 12/29/17 at 1:54 AM, Champaign Police responded to the Walgreens at 1713 W. Springfield Ave. in Champaign for a reported robbery at that location. The suspect demanded the clerk give him all the money, and fled that location in a vehicle with an undisclosed amount of currency.
A Champaign Police Officer located an unoccupied vehicle in the 1800 block of Sangamon, which matched the description of the suspect vehicle from the Walgreens robbery. Officers began surveillance on that vehicle, and at approximately 6:55 AM, officers observed the suspect enter the vehicle. A Champaign Police Officer pulled his squad car behind the suspect vehicle to prevent the suspect from driving away. The suspect then repeatedly backed into the occupied squad car until able to maneuver around the squad car and flee from officers. A second, unoccupied vehicle was also struck by the suspect vehicle as it fled from the scene.
As the suspect fled in the vehicle, Champaign Police Officers pursued the suspect for approximately ten minutes. During the vehicle pursuit, the suspect’s driving actions increasingly posed a risk to the public, and as a result, the officers were forced to end the pursuit.
At approximately 10:00 AM, officers conducted a welfare check of the suspect’s relative at a residence in the 1800 block of Sangamon. Inside the residence, officers discovered a 60-year-old female that was deceased. Officers are treating this death as a Homicide.
At approximately 10:27 AM, officers from the Champaign Police Department and the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office located the suspect driving the vehicle near the intersection of Cardinal Road and Rising Road. The suspect again fled from officers in his vehicle. At one point during the pursuit, a Champaign County Sheriff’s deputy discharged his weapon at the suspect vehicle. The investigation into the weapon discharge is being led by the Illinois State Police.
The pursuit continued, and officers pursued the suspect at high speeds until officers found the suspect vehicle unoccupied in a ditch in the 500 block of N. Division in Mahomet. Officers searched for the suspect until he was found outside the Mahomet High School at approximately 11:01 AM. When found, he displayed a knife and refused to put it down after being commanded to do so by officers. A Taser was used against the suspect, and he was safely apprehended by sheriff’s deputies and Champaign Police officers. The suspect was transported to the hospital where he was treated, and released to the Champaign Police.
The suspect is identified as Richard O. Stover, a 41-year-old from Champaign. He was ultimately transported to the Champaign County Correctional Center for the preliminary charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Robbery, and Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding a Peace Officer.
Currently, the Champaign Police Crime Scene Unit is processing the scene of the suspected homicide, and detectives are continuing to follow up on the original robbery investigation of Walgreens. Anyone with information about either of these investigations is encouraged to call the Champaign Police Investigation Division at (217) 351-4545 or Crime Stoppers at (217) 373-8477.
Citizens are reminded that information submitted to Crime Stoppers is completely anonymous. Calls are routed to a third-party national call center that receives your information, completes a tips information form, and then passes that information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Caller ID tracking is not utilized by Crime Stoppers and conversations are not recorded.
Crime Stoppers tips can be shared by phone at: 217-373-8477 (TIPS); online at www.373tips.com; or through the “P3 Tips” mobile application.
Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
Media Contact: Lt. Nathan Rath | [email protected] | (217) 403-6926