South Barrington detective honored for role in murder suspect’s arrest

A South Barrington police detective was publicly honored Thursday night for his role in apprehending a murder suspect authorities said had fled to the suburbs.

Detective Mickey Walsh received an Exceptional Duty Award during the evening’s village board meeting.

Walsh, a 15-year department veteran, was among the suburban officers who responded to a call for assistance Aug. 20. Chicago police were pursuing a man and woman believed to have been involved in a murder there and hit-and-run crashes earlier that day in Elk Grove Village and Lake Barrington, authorities said at the time.

The suspects’ Ford pickup truck was found in Lake Barrington that afternoon. Police used drones, dogs and other tools to search for the suspects and found one — 22-year-old Luisa Sanchez of Cary — at a gas station, along with the weapon believed used in the Chicago murder, authorities said then.

Walsh and a Chicago police officer spotted the other suspect — 38-year-old Washington resident Osceola L. Little — hours later in Lake Barrington and chased him while giving information to the other officers involved in the search, South Barrington Police Chief Michael Garrison said.

They pursued Little into Fox Valley Hot Rods at 21966 N. Pepper Road. With Little cornered in an office, Walsh and other officers helped employees safely exit the building.

Little surrendered after about two hours of negotiations with police. He subsequently was charged in Lake County with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.

The Chicago murder remains under investigation, a spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said.

Sanchez was charged with obstructing justice, aiding a fugitive and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Walsh “placed the safety and well-being of others above his own, taking decisive and lifesaving actions that went beyond the call of duty,” Garrison said.

Walsh has been a detective for three years. He also serves as a supervisor in the suburban Major Case Assistance Team.