Jury says Scott B. Peters guilty of trying to kill sheriff's deputies
A jury Thursday afternoon took less than two hours to find Scott B. Peters guilty of attempted murder for shooting two McHenry County sheriff's deputies in October after they went to his Holiday Hills home for a well-being check on his wife and daughter that led to a gunbattle and a 16-hour manhunt.
Peters, a 52-year-old with a checkered past in the Army, faces up to life in prison when sentenced June 25.
Peters, who had tried to fire his attorneys at one point and loudly complained he needed to see a doctor during his trial, didn't show any outward emotion when the verdict was read.
During the three-day trial in Woodstock, prosecutors presented a harrowing narrative of the Oct. 16, 2014, gunfight outside Peters' home in which Deputy Dwight Maness and his partner, Deputy Khalia Satkiewicz, were wounded after Peters yelled "Airborne!" before firing a volley of shots from his AR-15 assault rifle through his closed front door.
After a third deputy, Eric Luna, returned fire, Peters yelled out that he was an Army paratrooper and "I hope you're ready to die because I am," according to trial testimony.
Another officer arrived and dragged a severely wounded Maness to safety before Peters fled; his wife and 12-year-old daughter were in the home and not injured.
After the verdict, Maness stood on his right leg from his wheelchair and shook hands with prosecutors. A row of deputies and sheriff's personnel clapped as Maness was then wheeled down the hallway.
Maness and Satkiewicz - holding hands - thanked the community for its support and prosecutors for their hard work on the case. Maness said he told the story of that night a thousand times, but it wasn't the same as being on the witness stand.
"It was different during the trial because it was personal, trying to separate the emotion from this incident," said Maness, seated in a wheelchair with his left leg elevated. "I wanted (to stand) to show (Peters) that he did not win.
" … The department has been tight knit, but this has made it even tighter. I feel blessed. The community, friends, family, the department, everybody's been so gracious. I feel blessed to be a part of this community, to serve this community."
Added Satkiewicz about her testimony: "It was very hard, all the emotions we felt that night come back to you."
Maness has had 12 surgeries to repair his left femur, which was shattered by Peters' bullet. Maness said there are three more surgeries to go, assuming there are no complications.