ROCHELLE — A man wanted on murder charges in North Carolina was apprehended in Rochelle on Christmas Day after a seven-hour standoff at a local hotel.

According to a report from the Mendota Police Department, on Wednesday evening at approximately 7:18 p.m., a call was received that a man was attempting to sell firearms out of a pick-up truck just outside of town in a gas station parking lot. Upon the arrival of police, the man fled on foot into an open farm field.

A vehicle identification search on the suspect’s vehicle was conducted and it was learned that the truck was stolen out of Boone, North Carolina by a homicide suspect, John Richard Gray, 28, of Virginia Beach, and the truck belonged to the homicide victim.

Mendota police reported that at some point Gray obtained transportation to Rochelle where he checked into the U.S. Express Hotel on Dement Road.

“The Illinois State Police were tracking him (Gray) and they generated a leads interagency broadcast to watch for him,” explained Rochelle Deputy Chief Eric Higby. “They sent out a couple of photos and circulated them around the area.”

Higby added that an off-duty police officer at Petro said he recognized seeing Gray, so state police began canvassing the entire area and eventually discovered he was staying in a room at the hotel. At approximately 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 25, Rochelle police were called in to back-up the perimeter while the ISP’s North Tactical Response Team evacuated other guests in the hotel and hostage negotiators were called in.

After more than seven hours of negotiations with police, Gray surrendered without incident and was taken to the Ogle County Jail to await extradition to North Carolina to answer the homicide charges.

Background

Gray is wanted in Boone, N.C., for the suspected murder of a pawn shop owner. According to a press release from the Boone Police Department, at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 22, police were called because Jimmy Roberts, the owner of the Gold and Closeout Connection Pawn Shop had not opened for business. Boone police and fire officials gained entrance to the locked business and found that Roberts had been shot and killed. Roberts’ vehicle was discovered missing and items had been taken from the store.

An investigation by Boone Police and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation led them to believe Gray was invovled in the murder, and left the area driving Roberts’ 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pick-up.