By Kim Janssen and Michael Sneed; Contributing: Cheryl V. Jackson
The Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — Free on parole, convicted armed robber Timothy Herring Jr. was determined not to go back to prison, police say.
So when the 19-year-old sneaked back Friday to the scene of a burglary he’d committed hours earlier and overheard veteran police officer and evidence technician Michael Flisk say “I’ve got a good fingerprint,” he acted in the coldest of blood, law enforcement sources said.
Armed with a handgun and wearing an electronic tracking bracelet on his ankle, Herring crept up on Flisk and former CHA police officer Stephen Peters in the alley on the 8100 block of South Burnham and shot both men dead, it’s alleged.
Prosecutors charged him with the first degree murder of both men Monday, marking the end of a 72-hour round-the-clock effort to find justice for Peters and Flisk, the fifth Chicago cop murdered this year.
Flisk’s fellow officers “worked nonstop, even in the face of extreme grief,” Supt. Jody Weis said as he announced the charges against Herring and an alleged accomplice, Timothy Willis, 22, who’s charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and obstruction of justice for allegedly helping Herring cover up the murders.
“All of Chicago owes [the community] a debt of gratitude as they helped get a killer off the streets,” Weis said.
Herring was sentenced to six years behind bars for an armed robbery in 2007 but was released in April on parole. He was locked up again in July after testing positive for marijuana, according to Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman.
On Sept. 14, Herring was freed again to his home, across the alley from Friday’s murder scene, records show.
During his brief period of freedom over the summer, Herring tried to kill another man, according to new charges also filed Monday. On June 18, Herring tried to kill 41-year-old Fernando Townsend just a block from where Flisk and Peters were shot, authorities alleged.
On Friday, Herring allegedly broke into Peters’ mother’s garage during the early hours and returned later to collect stolen parts from Peters’ prized red Ford Mustang that he’d stashed in garbage cans.
It was then that he allegedly encountered Flisk, who was investigating the burglary, and Peters, who was guiding Flisk around the crime scene, police said. Both men were armed but neither “had a chance to defend themselves” before Herring shot them, Weis said.
After killing the men, Herring called his girlfriend and told her to come over, a source said. He then asked her to get rid of his gun, saying he had just shot two people, the source said.
Herring was arrested Saturday, when his home was also searched.
Flisk was extremely skilled at gathering crime scene evidence. A meticulous and skilled forensics man, Flisk put away countless criminals and was about to be commended for cracking the case of a serial burglar who targeted the Beverly community this summer, his co-workers said Monday as they paid tribute to his skill, determination and sense of humor.
At a crime scene, Flisk could “think like the offender and place himself there and know where they put their hands, and dust there and come up with quality stuff,” said fellow evidence technician John Murphy. Flisk used so much powder in his search for clues that Murphy once came back from a scene with him looking “like a glazed doughnut,” Murphy said, laughing.
But Flisk was humble enough that his locker was full of commendations he’d never taken home or told his wife or four kids about, colleagues said. The family was presented with a check for $15,000 Monday, the first installment of a $50,000 donation made by the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the Hundred Club of Chicago.
“We’ve really lost a good officer,” Lt. Bob Dubiel said, adding that Flisk’s death shows there are no safe jobs in the Chicago Police Department.
Peters’ family was certainly grateful for the efforts that saw Herring charged.
“We’ve known his family for years,” Peters’ father, Robert Peters, said, adding that Peters’ mother often said hello to Herring’s uncle when she saw him in the street.
“He left a lot of evidence behind, but we’re very, very, glad they caught him.”
Peters’ family also thanked Townsend, whom Herring allegedly tried to kill in June, for contacting police after Friday’s murders.
Speaking Monday, Townsend alleged Herring shot him as he was standing outside his home on the 8000 block of Burnham this summer. Townsend, who was hospitalized for a month and walks with a cane as result of the shooting, said he didn’t identify Herring to police at the time because his mother was afraid of reprisals.
But “when I heard what happened to Stephen I had to do something,” he said. “I hope he never gets out . . . I hope he gets the death penalty.”
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