Libertyville cop shoots armed man in domestic dispute

A Libertyville man was fatally shot by a police officer early Saturday following a domestic disturbance, authorities said.

Spencer Foutes, 23, had pointed a handgun at officers responding to the disturbance at a townhouse on the 900 block of Cali Court in Libertyville, police said.

Foutes was shot once in the chest, Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said. Foutes was taken by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The deadly confrontation occurred about 6 a.m. inside the home in the Riva Ridge subdivision.

Residents in the fairly secluded cul-de-sac were shocked to wake up Saturday morning to see police cars, fire trucks and an ambulance outside their windows.

"I'm still kind of shaking from it," said neighbor Joanne Levine, who saw the police and paramedic activity while getting the newspaper on her driveway.

Foutes, his mom and a friend of the son's had been living in the subdivision since May, neighbors said.

Levine saw Foutes being wheeled out of the house on a gurney. He was being treated by paramedics as he was loaded into the ambulance, she said.

"It was terrible," Levine said. "Even the policeman said it's rare for this kind of thing to happen (here). But then again, it happens everywhere."

Another neighbor, Tom Kleinhenz, saw the action outside after waking up. Like Levine, he didn't hear any gunshots.

Neither did neighbor Anne Schmidt. She, too, was stunned. "It's so quiet back here," Schmidt said.

Foutes' townhouse remained cordoned off with yellow police tape Saturday afternoon. A Libertyville police squad car was parked outside.

The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the shooting. A representative could not be reached Saturday.

An autopsy conducted Saturday afternoon confirmed the gunshot killed Foutes, Keller said. Foutes may have been drinking before the shooting, but that likely won't be confirmed by tests until Monday, Keller said.

The unidentified officer who shot Foutes has been placed on administrative leave, pending completion of the investigation, police said.

Daily Herald Staff Writer Ted Cox contributed to this report.