On Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at approximately 8:10 a.m., a Whiteside County Deputy was conducting stationary patrol on I-88, when the Deputy clocked a silver Dodge Charger traveling eastbound, at a speed of 111 mph. The vehicle matched the description of an ISPERN Alert, for a vehicle involved in a Fleeing and Eluding incident in Rock Island County. The Whiteside County Deputy made an attempt to the stop the vehicle, but terminated at Mile Marker 36. The suspect vehicle was last observed exiting at the 36 mile marker ramp.
The vehicle traveled eastbound on U. S. Route 30, where it was located by the Rock Falls Police Department traveling 90 mph in a 40-mph zone. Although not being pursued, the suspect vehicle continued eastbound at an extremely high rate of speed. The driver lost control after driving onto the north shoulder of the roadway, rolling the vehicle. [It came] to rest in the 700 block of E. Route 30.
After the accident four, male, black suspects were seen attempting to exit the vehicle and flee the scene. One eyewitness reported seeing one of the suspects carrying a hand gun as he fled on foot. At no time were any suspects seen on video running eastbound from the scene.
The first suspect was apprehended as he was exiting the crashed vehicle while attempting to flee. This suspect was identified as 23-year-old Montriel D. Clark of Rockford, IL. Clark was taken into custody, transported to CGH by ambulance for minor injuries, and later remanded to the Whiteside County Jail. In addition to charges from this incident, Clark was wanted out of Rockford for a valid arrest warrant for 1st Degree Murder/No FOID/Unlawful Use of Weapons/Aggravated Discharge/Aggravated Battery.
Additional Officers from the Illinois State Police, Sterling, Rock Falls, Prophetstown, and Fulton Police Departments were requested. They established a perimeter that extended west to Route 40 and south to I-88. Officers searching the area first apprehended 28-year-old Gregory Gould of Rockford, in the 700 block of E. Route 30, hiding in a shed behind a residential property. The search was extended to a wooded area and included the use of the Carroll County K-9, aerial drones, and Officers on foot. The search resulted in the apprehension of the remaining two suspects, 20-year-old Jimmitreus J. Castleberry of Aurora, IL, and 23-year-old Terrance T. Howard of Hazel Crest, IL. Castleberry was also wanted by the Illinois Department of Corrections on a Parole Violation warrant. Howard was also wanted out of Rockford, for Failure to Appear, Fleeing, and Eluding.
Evidence recovered at the scene included a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson hand gun; a 9mm Glock handgun with an extended magazine and an installed after-market device, that converts the semi-automatic weapon to fully automatic; multiple controlled substances, including crack cocaine, MDMA, and cannabis.
An erroneous social media posting stating that a male suspect apprehended east of the crash scene on McNeil Road was involved in this incident. That individual was not involved and was apprehended only for an Outstanding Whiteside County Warrant for Failure to Pay or Appear.
John Booker ss Sheriff of Whiteside County, I would like to say thank you to the Police agencies who helped apprehend this 4 suspects it was done with great communication and team work. Also a big thank you to the community who helped with providing video to the Sheriff’s Office.
All defendants are in custody at the Whiteside County Jail and made their initial appearances. Suspects were charged with various offenses.
All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.