2 honored in alleged spree killer's arrest

GRANITE CITY -- FBI officials have honored two Granite City residents for their role in last summer's capture of accused spree killer Nicholas Sheley.

FBI officials from Chicago, St. Louis and Springfield presented certificates of appreciation and $5,000 Thursday to Samantha Butler and Gary Range for calls that led to Sheley's arrest in a Granite City restaurant on July 1.

The 29-year-old Sheley, of Sterling is charged with the bludgeoning deaths of six people in Illinois and two people in Missouri. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $10 million bond in the Knox County Jail.

Authorities say Butler and Range were eating in Bindy's Restaurant when they saw a television account of the hunt for Sheley, and recognized him as a man sitting only a few feet away.