Trial for suspect in McHenry County deputy's killing set to begin Monday in federal court
The federal murder trial of a Springfield man accused of the 2019 killing of a McHenry County sheriff's deputy who was gunned down while serving an arrest warrant at a Rockford hotel, is set to begin today.
Floyd E. Brown, 44, is charged with "unlawfully, willfully, deliberately, maliciously and with premeditation" killing Deputy Jacob Keltner, who was fatally shot while acting in his capacity as a special deputy U.S. marshal, according to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois's Western Division.
Floyd also faces charges alleging he attempted to kill another deputy U.S. marshal and two special U.S. marshals, as
well as weapons charges. Authorities say Floyd had two pistols and two rifles, all loaded and with their serial numbers removed, along with about a thousand rounds of ammunition and 88 rifle cartridges.
If convicted of any of the federal counts related to Keltner's death, Floyd faces a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. He faces separate first-degree murder charges in Winnebago County stemming from Keltner's death.
Keltner, a 35-year-old married father from Crystal Lake, had spent five years as a member of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and nearly 13 years with the McHenry County sheriff's office at the time of his killing.
On the morning of March 7, 2019, Keltner was part of a task force serving arrest warrants for Brown at a Rockford hotel. Warrants for Brown's arrest had been issued out of McLean, Champaign and Sangamon counties, as well as by the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Authorities said Brown shot through the door of a room at the Extended Stay America in Rockford, then jumped out of the third-story window shooting, striking Keltner.
Brown later was captured n the side of a downstate highway, after high-speed vehicle chase and standoff, authorities said.
Keltner's family declined to comment leading up to the trial, which is being held in the federal courthouse in Rockford.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. Jury selection is set to begin this morning.