Records: Man killed by Round Lake officer had previous conviction

The Grayslake man shot to death during a weekend skirmish with a Round Lake police officer previously had been convicted of a felony stemming from an altercation with police that landed two deputies and a detective in the hospital, according to court and police records.

A Round Lake police officer confronted 22-year-old Michael Robert Musson late Friday night after authorities received 911 calls about someone banging on doors along a stretch of North Macgillis Drive, authorities said. Musson appeared to have been breaking windows and lights and may have tried forcing his way into at least one condominium in the Round Lake neighborhood, Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Det. Christopher Covelli said.

Musson, who police said was holding a shard of glass during the confrontation, died after being shot multiple times, the Lake County coroner’s office said.

Court records show this was not Musson’s first violent run-in with police.

In August 2013, Musson allegedly put a Lake County Sheriff’s detective in a headlock, according to court records and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. The detective had been investigating a drug deal when he saw two people smoking marijuana in a backyard in unincorporated Grayslake, according to records.

At the time, authorities said the detective approached the pair, and as he attempted to arrest one person, Michael Musson, then 19, allegedly put the detective in a headlock. While the detective was on the ground, three other people punched and kicked him, witnesses told deputies later during the investigation.

The detective was able to call for back-up, authorities report, and the two deputies that responded also were punched and kicked.

Musson was held without bail on two charges of felony aggravated battery to a peace officer, two counts of resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.

In a negotiated deal on Oct. 2, 2014, Michael Musson pleaded guilty to an enhanced felony charge of resisting a peace officer and received a sentence of 24 months of probation, according to State’s Attorney’s Office Communications Manager Cynthia Vargas. The aggravated battery charges were dropped as part of the deal.

As part of the same plea deal, Musson’s sentence included 16 days of time served in Lake County Jail, 60 days of work release custody, a drug and alcohol evaluation, and random drug and alcohol testing during his probation period.

Musson also had prior ordinance violation arrests for speeding and other traffic offenses in Lake County, and was charged with felony theft and possession of stolen property in October 2012, but those charges were dismissed after the case was joined with the battery and resisting case as part of the plea deal, according to officials and court records.

According to a witness to Musson’s altercation Friday with an unidentified Round Lake police officer, he tackled a female officer who responded to the 911 calls. The officer shot him at one point during the scuffle, but Musson tried to tackle her again, said Donna Kelly, who lives on the first block of north Macgillis Drive.

Covelli, the task force spokesman, would not confirm or deny Kelly’s version of events.

Kelly, 55, said a friend was at her house Friday night, and he told her someone was, “waving a big stick and breaking glass.”

Kelly said she also heard a commotion and breaking glass. It wasn’t until she went out to her back porch, where there is a nature path between condos, that she saw a man with a big stick about two condos over from hers and across the pathway, she said.

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Kelly said the man then moved onto her side of the path, and she remembered thinking she needed to call police. But before she could call, she said, her friend told her the police already had arrived. Kelly said Musson was carrying a big stick and was walking away from the officer, until she shined a flashlight on him and told him to stop.

“He then turned and charged her and laid her out flat on the walkway,” Kelly said, adding that her friend shouted at Musson, distracting him momentarily.

“I think it surprised the man because he turned around to look at who was screaming at him,” Kelly said. “Then she was able to push him off her and get out from under him.”

But Musson went after the officer again, Kelly said, and he and the officer were only five to six feet away from each other.

“She drew her weapon and fired at him,” Kelly said. “She begged him to stay down … and he just kept coming. He kept charging her. She fired more shots before he finally went down.”

Kelly said the officer used terms like, “Stop. Stay down. Back off,” and so did her friend, but the whole time the suspect was still swinging the stick.

Three days after Friday’s shooting, Kelly said that Musson damaged the condominiums before police arrived. She said at least six garage door handles in her section were broken. She said a number of glass globes outside that adorned garages were broken, and the wiring was pulled through the fixtures.

While police have stated Musson had a shard of glass in his hand during the encounter with the officer, Kelly said she did not see that.

Orlando Portillo, Lake County chief deputy coroner, said Monday that Musson’s autopsy showed he died of multiple gunshot wounds, but he declined to elaborate on how many or where he was shot. Portillo said a toxicology report will not be available for at least six weeks.

As of Tuesday, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force had not disclosed what provoked the Round Lake officer to shoot Musson. Covelli said Tuesday that investigators were still interviewing witnesses and would not comment on Kelly’s account.

A task force statement reported that Musson was pronounced dead about 11 p.m. at the scene of the shooting. According to Covelli, while Musson’s driver’s license said he was from the Grayslake area, he was living near the location of Friday’s incident.

Covelli confirmed Musson appeared to have been breaking glass and lights, and may have tried to force his way into at least one home among the rows of condominiums along that stretch of North Macgillis Drive. He said Musson was holding a piece of glass when confronted by the Round Lake officer, who was alone and the first to arrive in response to the 911 calls. Officers who arrived after the shooting tried to revive Musson but were unsuccessful, he said.

The officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at an area hospital, and is now on paid administrative leave in accordance with Round Lake regulations regarding officer-involved shootings, Covelli said. The Round Lake Police Department will conduct an internal investigation to ensure department protocol was followed.

The task force is handling the criminal side of the investigation, Covelli said.

“The task force will continue to follow up on leads regarding the shooting,” he said. “Once all of the facts, evidence and data is collected regarding the investigation, they will meet with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office so that the state’s attorney’s office can make a determination on the incident itself.”

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