FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Odom announced charges against three men accused in the shooting deaths of two men outside a bar in north suburban Wheaton, Illinois, on January 16, 2018.
The men were charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault.
“These cases highlight the need for additional law enforcement resources to target violent criminals who seek to inflict violence on innocent civilians,” Odom said in a statement.
The charges are the first criminal charges filed against the suspects in the Wheaton shooting.
“These cases underscore the need to increase resources to identify and target violent criminal threats and deter them from harming innocent people,” O’Neill said.
The Wheaton incident sparked nationwide protests over gun laws and a series of other violent attacks in which police have used deadly force.
The Wheaton Police Department released surveillance video showing a suspect in a dark-colored vehicle driving a silver Nissan Altima with Illinois license plate 7VJ5Y, which authorities said is believed to be connected to the Wheatons shootings.
The video was released to the public and was shared on social media.
Odom said that on Jan. 19, 2018, a man in a white pickup truck approached the bar at a convenience store in the 100 block of West Belmont Avenue and demanded cash from two men inside the establishment.
One of the men, later identified as 22-year-old Jonathan Miller, got out of the car and pointed a gun at the gunman, Odom reported.
Miller then ran toward the bar, which Odom described as a “small bar and grill,” but it was not immediately clear what type of alcohol was being served there.
The two men then returned to the car, O’Donnell said.
O’Donnell described Miller as an African-American male who wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark pants, with a black beard and short dark hair.
He had a black backpack and was carrying a knife.
Another video of the suspect’s car was released by the Wheton Police Department on Jan 25.
It showed the suspect and two others walking toward the convenience store, with Miller in the passenger seat.
A witness said the suspect was driving a gray Nissan Altis with Illinois registration number 7VJP1Y.
The passenger in the other vehicle was identified as 28-year.
Two days later, on Jan 28, the same suspect, wearing a gray jacket and jeans, approached a gas station in the 1200 block of North Lincoln Avenue and asked for money.
He was wearing dark jeans and a gray T-shirt, O-Donnell said in the statement.
He drove away, but was followed by a woman in a silver car.
The woman drove away in the Nissan Altimo and drove the two of them back to the gas station, where the Altimo was stolen, according to the police statement.
Three days later on Jan 30, Miller and two other men were involved in a shooting at a house in the 5400 block of South Lake Street.
O’Dowd reported that Miller shot at a man who was in a vehicle parked in the driveway, wounding him.
Miller then opened fire on the man, wounding one man and wounding the other.
Odom did not immediately provide further details on the incident.
A police report did not provide any information on Miller’s relationship to the alleged gunman.
Miller has a criminal history dating to at least 2013 in which he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault with intent to commit a felony.
In February, Miller was charged in a separate shooting in which two men were shot and killed outside a restaurant in the 1500 block of East Lake Street in south suburban Lake Charles, Illinois.
A woman and her husband were sitting in the vehicle when they heard shots, police said.
The husband was struck in the head.
Both men were identified as Michael Brough and Patrick J. Haney.
O-Dowt reported that police had a warrant for Miller’s arrest, which was issued on March 1.