UPDATE: Authorities in Williamson County have announced that after a 9-hour manhunt, a 23-year-old Carterville man who allegedly shot at a Cambria police officer late Monday night has been located and arrested.
Police arrested Billy J. Jearlds around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday. He had lead police on an overnight manhunt that started around 10:45 p.m. Monday.
Jearlds was captured without incident at approximately 7:45 A.M. An ambulance was called to the scene for Jearlds for a minor wound. It is unknown at this time if the wound was related to this incident.
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SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — Law enforcement officers in Southern Illinois are currently searching for a 23-year-old white male suspect wanted for shooting at a Cambria Police Officer.
(Source: ISP)
Illinois State Police (ISP) Troopers, ISP SWAT Team members, ISP Zone 7 Investigations, Williamson and Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputies, Cambria, Carbondale, Crainville, Carterville, Marion, Herrin, and Energy Police Officers are involved in the search for Billy Jearlds.
At approximately 10:45 p.m. October 19, 2015, a Cambria Police Officer approached the suspect, who was on foot. The suspect identified himself as Billy Jearlds, but soon afterward, he fled the scene on foot and into the nearby woods.
As he fled, Jeralds shot in the direction of the officer, with the officer returning fire. The Cambria officer was uninjured in the incident.
The suspect is identified as Billy J. Jearlds, a 23 year old white male, of Carterville. Jearlds stands 6-feet 1-inch tall, weighs approximately 187 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.
Jearlds was last seen wearing a camouflage and black hoodie sweatshirt and blue jeans. Jearlds is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone having contact with Jearlds should use extreme caution and call 911 immediately. Anyone with non-emergency information on Jearlds’ whereabouts should contact the Illinois State Police District 13 at (618) 542-2171.