Illinois State Police Trooper Nicholas Hopkins, 33, was shot and killed during the execution of a search warrant in East St. Louis, in the early morning hours of Aug. 23. Photo by Illinois State Police/UPI |
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Aug. 26 (UPI) -- The man accused of killing an Illinois State Police officer in a shootout last week was arraigned Monday on first-degree murder charges while a second suspect was charged in connection to the trooper's death, authorities said.
Christopher R. Grant, 45, who was charged Saturday with killing Trooper Nicholas Hopkins, did not enter a plea in court Monday and when asked if he was planning to retain private representation by Circuit Judge John O'Gara, he said he was "looking into it," the Belleville News-Democrat reported.
A grand jury is currently going over the evidence in the case, O'Gara said during the arraignment. They have 30 days to indict him with potential penalties ranging from 20 years in prison to life without parole.
Grant was one of three people taken into police custody following the death of Hopkins, who died at the hospital some 12 hours after being shot in a shootout that erupted when officers were attempting to execute a search warrant in a dangerous East St. Louis residential neighborhood.
According to court records, Grant has been convicted numerous times for charges ranging from operating an uninsured vehicle to attempting to resist or obstruct a peace officer and selling drugs.
The St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office on Monday also charged Al Stewart, Jr., 19, with armed violence, obstructing justice and unlawful possession with intent to distribute, according to court records.
Prosecutors accuse Stewart of being armed with a handgun when police arrived at the residence to issue the search warrant that he then hid in the kitchen. He is also accused of having been in possession of between 10 and 30 grams of a substance containing marijuana.
Hopkins was the first Illinois State Police trooper shot and killed since 1998 when Virgil Lee Bensyl died while attempting to arrest a suspect, authorities said.
