Police: Man in custody after holding girlfriend, kids hostage in Riverdale

SHARE Police: Man in custody after holding girlfriend, kids hostage in Riverdale
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A man wanted on a homicide warrant was taken into custody after a standoff early Tuesday in south suburban Riverdale. | Justin Jackson/ Sun-Times

A Chicago man wanted in connection with a downstate killing was taken into custody after he held his girlfriend and her children against their will early Tuesday inside a south suburban Riverdale home.

Officers responded about 2 a.m. after getting a report that a woman and her children were being held captive by her boyfriend inside a home in the 500 block of Pacesetter Parkway, according to Riverdale police.

The caller also told police that the woman’s boyfriend was wanted by authorities for a killing in downstate Danville, police said.

After about two hours of negotiation, 40-year-old Maurice Brooks surrendered himself to officers, police said. He was taken into custody on a warrant for first-degree murder out of Vermilion County.

Brooks was wanted in connection with the Oct. 14, 2017 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Gerald Taylor, according to Larry Thomason, director of public safety for the Danville Police Department.

Taylor, also of Chicago, and Brooks got into an argument over a parking spot about 3 a.m. outside the Danville Housing Authority’s Fair Oaks public housing complex, Thomason said. During the argument, Brooks pulled out a gun and fatally shot Taylor. An arrest warrant on a charge of first-degree murder was issued for Brooks soon after.

Brooks could face additional charges related to the morning barricade incident in Riverdale, police said.

The South Suburban Emergency Response Team arrives on scene early Tuesday at 138th and Halsted streets in Riverdale. | Justin Jackson/ Sun-Times

The South Suburban Emergency Response Team arrives on scene early Tuesday at 138th and Halsted streets in Riverdale. | Justin Jackson/ Sun-Times


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