A 51-year-old man was arrested by Peoria police in connection to a shooting that hospitalized a Peoria County Sheriff’s deputy on Saturday night.
Police arrested Larry D. Bell roughly two hours after he allegedly shot a sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop at a gas station on South Western Avenue.
According to Peoria police, deputies approached a vehicle and a passenger fled the scene on foot. During a pursuit, the fleeing suspect fired multiple shots at a deputy, striking him twice.
Bell faces nine charges, including attempted murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of methamphetamine.
Bell was hospitalized after he began having seizures after he was taken into custody in an abandoned building on Garden Street. Police say he had illegal drugs on him at the time of his arrest.
A search warrant was obtained for the abandoned building, where officers also recovered a handgun.
The sheriff’s deputy who was shot is in stable condition but faces a “long recovery,” according to Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins.
The deputy, who has not yet been named, underwent surgery that lasted “most of the night” after he was shot, according to Watkins. The deputy has been with the department for three years.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Suspect arrested in shooting of Peoria County Sheriff’s deputy
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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