The national debate over police-involved shootings in the 2010s extended into Lake County at several points during the decade, with 2016 seeing an unusually large number for both investigators and the public to digest.
The first incident arrived early in the new year in Zion, where emotions were still raw following the April 2015 shooting death of 17-year-old Justus Howell. On Jan. 6, officers responded to a report that a suspicious person was taking photographs of two schools at 22nd Street and Bethesda Boulevard, and authorities said a confrontation quickly turned violent.
According to a subsequent report by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, two officers approached 38-year-old Charles J. Hollstein and attempted to take him into custody for questioning, and he began to resist. In the ensuing struggle, the officers reported deploying a Taser twice, but Hollstein still struggled with them.
As one officer wrestled with Hollstein on the ground, he reportedly yelled that Hollstein was “going for my gun,” and the other officer fired three shots, killing Hollstein. The state’s attorney’s report stated that the officer, “only fired his weapon when he felt that his life and the life of his fellow officer was in danger, (and) was justified in his decision to use deadly force.”
Hollstein was found to be armed with an air pistol painted to look like a firearm. A family member said Hollstein struggled with mental illness and could be violent.
On April 16, two Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies and two McHenry County deputies opened fire on man who authorities said pulled a gun on them as they surrounded a stolen SUV outside Topper’s Sports Bar near Route 173 and Lotus Avenue in Antioch just after midnight.
A Lake County Coroner’s Office report stated that the man inside the SUV, 53-year-old Gerald Robert Boyes, ended up with “multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and arms, and that also includes a self-inflicted head wound” that proved to be fatal. A gun was reported to have been found in his hand.
Florida police had been searching for Boyes for a parole violation, and Kentucky authorities had been looking for him as part of an investigation into the double slaying of that man’s father and the father’s girlfriend. The stolen SUV had been rented by Boyes in Florida, and Kentucky investigators reported he was believed to be in the Chicago area two days before the vehicle was spotted by local deputies.
On July 26 in Zion, an officer fired a shot at a car driven by Devon J. Davidson during an on-and-off police pursuit, wounding Davidson and leading to a lawsuit against the city.
According to authorities, police attempted to stop Davidson for speeding after 11 p.m. on July 26, but he led police on a chase involving multiple squad cars at speeds of up to 65 mph in a 35-mph zone on 27th Street. Police and prosecutors said he was driving drunk on a license already suspended for a previous DUI charge at the time.
Davidson eventually stopped in the driveway of his mother’s home, where he was approached by an officer. Dashcam footage of the incident showed Davidson’s vehicle backing up into a squad car as the officer walked toward the driver’s side with his gun drawn. Davidson’s vehicle then turned toward the officer as the vehicle drove away, and the officer fired a shot into the driver’s-side window, striking Davidson.
The city disputed the lawsuit’s allegations, but agreed on a $75,000 settlement that included no admission of wrongdoing. Davidson was convicted of aggravated driving under the influence and was sentenced to 13 months in prison.
On Sept. 2, a Round Lake police officer shot 22-year-old Michael Robert Musson of Grayslake to death during what authorities described as a violent struggle outside a Macgillis Drive apartment complex. A report released in July 2017 by the state’s attorney’s office stated that when the officer responded to calls about a man banging on doors, Musson tackled her and slashed at her with a shard of broken glass
“(The officer) screamed for Mr. Musson to get off of her. He continued to smother her with his weight,” the report stated. “He yelled ‘(Expletive) you. I’m going to kill you!'”
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The officer was able to get on her feet and reported she had Musson covered with her gun and yelled, “Don’t move! Stay down!” Musson reportedly charged at her, and she fired her gun five times.
The state’s sttorney’s report noted that “numerous witnesses described Mr. Musson’s violent, destructive, and aggressive actions” during the altercation, and the officer’s use of deadly forced was found to be justified. The report added that Musson had consumed six doses of LSD prior to the incident, and also had barbituates, cannabinoids, salicylates, acetone, ethanol, isopropanol and methanol in his system.
Other headlines across Lake County in 2016 included the shooting death of a Barrington woman that led to the 2019 murder conviction of her husband, Larry Lotz; a Lake County judge ruling that Melissa Calusinski would not be granted a long-sought new trial in the 2009 death of 16-month-old Deerfield toddler Benjamin Kingan; and the continuing trial of Melodie Gliniewicz, the widow of Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz, who was charged in connection with the thousands of dollars of Fox Lake Police Explorer funds prosecutors say the pair misused prior to his high-profile 2015 suicide.