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Police hope video holds clues into Fox Lake cop's murder

An area resident has given police a home security video that investigators hope will be the break they need to identify three men accused of killing veteran Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz on Tuesday morning.

George Filenko, commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, said during a news conference Thursday the video turned in by someone living "in the area" has been sent to the Department of Homeland Security because it is the only department with the technology to view the footage that was recovered.

The resident gave the video to a police officer they trust, and the officer turned it over to the task force Wednesday night, Filenko said.

Filenko would not say what he expects to find on the video, but he hopes to have a copy of it Thursday night.

In the interim, he said, he "believes the task force has made significant progress" in the last 24 hours in trying to find the suspects involved Gliniewicz's murder. The video and information obtained by canvassing neighborhoods is part of that progress, he said.

Filenko also said he hopes to receive answers to some lingering investigation questions after results start coming in from the crime lab Thursday evening, but he remained tight-lipped about several details in the case.

He declined to tell reporters whether the gun recovered at the murder scene on the east end of Honing Road belonged to Gliniewicz and if it was used to kill the officer. He also wouldn't discuss other details of the crime, such as whether fingerprints were recovered from a gun found at the scene and if footprints indicated the direction in which the suspects left the area.

He also wouldn't comment on whether Gliniewicz was wearing a vest or details of the autopsy.

Lake County Undersheriff Ray Rose said Tuesday Gliniewicz's gun was recovered at the scene, but he also did not say whether it was used to kill the 30-year veteran officer.

The three suspects have avoided capture since the shooting, but Filenko said he believes they still are in the area.

"Historically in these types of situations, the suspects tend to remain in the area," he said. "They normally are from the area and are comfortable with their surroundings. They also may not have the resources to leave the area."

Filenko said the area of Honing Road where Gliniewicz was killed has a history of vandalism and other problems, but he was unable to say how many arrests have been made there in the past and for what. Police are familiar with the location, he said, because of complaints they have received.

On Tuesday, 52-year-old Gliniewicz told a dispatcher he saw three men - two white and one black - acting suspiciously on Honing Road at 7:52 a.m., authorities said. He radioed three minutes later, saying he required backup because of a foot chase. Listen to the audio clip here.

Officers found him with a gunshot wound 14 minutes later in a wooded area about 50 yards from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at 8:25 a.m., authorities said.

Gliniewicz, who began his law enforcement career with Fox Lake in 1985, leaves behind a wife and four children.

Lake County Deputy Coroner Orlando Portillo said the 8:25 a.m. time of death was based on heart-rate monitoring equipment used by paramedics at the scene.

Fox Lake police do not use body cameras, Filenko said.

A continued heavy police presence marked the third day of the hunt for Gliniewicz's killers on Thursday.

Squad cars filled with officers from Fox Lake, Illinois State Police and other villages in Lake and McHenry counties were driving through neighborhoods and talking with residents.

Lake County sheriff's detective Chris Covelli said police continue using "saturation patrols" designed to search for the suspects, canvass neighborhoods, and show residents police are in the area.

The large police presence was especially on display late Wednesday, Covelli said, when 140 officers, 11 K-9 units and 3 aircraft descended on nearby Volo after a false report of two of the suspects in a cornfield off Route 12.

"It shows we are here and very active in the community," Covelli said. "We want everyone to feel safe."

  Grant High School students made a memorial to Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz using plastic cups along a fence near the school and Route 59 in Fox Lake. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Jodi Briedis of Lake Villa unloads eight cases of water at the Fox Lake Police Station Thursday to help the officers searching for three men suspected of shooting and killing Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz early Tuesday morning. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko, who also is commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, right, and Lake County sheriff's detective Christopher Covelli, left, speak during a news conference Thursday at the Fox Lake Police Station about Tuesday's fatal shooting of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Fox Lake Public Works employee Nick Fox places a candle around the village police station sign Thursday to honor slain police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was shot and killed in the line of duty Tuesday. courtesy of the Fox Lake police department
  Kids and teachers from Kidsuccess Day Care in Fox Lake drop off a banner at the Fox Lake Police Station Thursday to honor slain Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
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