Watch Illinois State Police Troopers Confront Armed Driver Wanted in Texas

By Kaitlyn Klepec

Source The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.

BLOOMINGTON, IL — A man from Arkansas has been detained in McLean County, accused of shooting at state police, which was caught on officers' body-worn and dash cameras.

Ryan Aeron Stanley Hurst, 18, of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is charged with the following:

three counts of attempted first degree murder, Class X felonies;
four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, three of which are charged as Class X felonies, while one is charged as a Class 1 felony;
one count of aggravated assault, a Class 4 felony.

Hurst appeared in court Monday afternoon for an initial appearance in custody before Judge J. Brian Goldrick. First Assistant State's Attorney Brad Rigdon filed a petition to detain Hurst on the grounds of both dangerousness and willful flight.

The defense, represented at Monday's hearing by Public Defender Ron Lewis, stipulated to the state's allegation of dangerousness but denied willful flight, resulting in a partially contested hearing for detention.

In reading the probable cause statement, Rigdon said about 9:33 a.m. Feb. 6, a black Ford Fusion car, which had been reported stolen out of Texas, was flagged by a license plate reader, traveling west on Interstate 74.

The vehicle was then spotted around 9:52 a.m. by an Illinois State Police trooper as it traveled from westbound I-74 to northbound state Route 54 near Farmer City.

Then, the vehicle traveled to U.S. Route 136, where it headed west again, Rigdon said.

Around 10 a.m., the trooper turned on the squad car lights and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. However, the vehicle began accelerating away from police, and the trooper eventually lost sight of it.

Officers from other agencies attempted to help locate the vehicle, setting up in various locations. At 10:25 a.m., an ISP sergeant saw the suspect vehicle traveling northbound on the LeRoy-Lexington Blacktop, going 95 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone, Rigdon said.

At 10:32 a.m., the sergeant was the first to arrive, in an unmarked squad car, at a gas station on P.J. Heller Highway in Lexington, after being informed the vehicle had pulled in there.

Two additional officers arrived shortly after. All officers were wearing body-worn cameras and had squad cars equipped with cameras, capturing audio and video of the incident, Rigdon said.

As the ISP sergeant approached the suspect vehicle, Hurst got into the back seat. The officer gave loud verbal commands for Hurst to stop and put his hands in the air.

A second suspect was seen exiting the store and complied with officers' commands. The Pantagraph is not naming this suspect since he was not charged in McLean County for this incident.

When the other two officers began to apprehended the second suspect, Hurst stood up, holding a black firearm in his right hand. He raised the gun in a shooting stance and pointed the firearm at an officer, Rigdon said.

The officer fired three bullets at the defendant before Hurst took cover within the suspect vehicle. He then fired back at all three officers through the front and back windows of the car. All three officers also fired shots at Hurst.

Eventually, the defendant exited the vehicle and dropped the gun. Officers rendered aid to Hurst, as he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Hurst was transported to an area hospital for treatment, Rigdon said.

Investigators located six spent 9mm shell casings, which ISP forensics confirmed to be fired by Hurst's handgun, the prosecutor said.

Footage from troopers' body-worn cameras and dash cameras was played in court Monday afternoon, but Illinois State Police have not released the videos. The Pantagraph has filed a request for this footage under the Freedom of Information Act.

On Feb. 7, Hurst spoke with investigators while he was still in the hospital and told them he had left Texas a week prior, without a plan. Hurst said, when officers approached him at the gas station, he tried to aim past the trooper's arm while firing at him. He told investigators he had hoped the troopers would kill him, Rigdon said.

Rigdon noted the defendant lied to police by telling them he had only fired two shots, which was inconsistent with evidence, Rigdon said.

Rigdon said since the defendant had fled from Texas while he had a pending warrant for an armed robbery, he was definitely a flight risk and not likely to return to McLean County if released.

Lewis disagreed, stating Hurst was unaware of his warrant from Texas at the time he came to Illinois.

Ultimately, Goldrick ruled in favor of the prosecution, finding Hurst was both dangerous and a flight risk, and the defendant was detained.

Hurst is scheduled for an arraignment at 9 a.m. March 14.

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