Man accused of Illinois deputy’s slaying faces related charges in Missouri
Ray Tate, the Kentucky man accused of killing an Illinois sheriff’s deputy last week, now faces multiple related charges in Missouri.
The St. Charles County prosecuting attorney’s office on Tuesday charged Tate, 40, with armed robbery, kidnapping, first-degree assault, vehicular hijacking and armed criminal action in connection with a multi-state crime spree that included the deputy’s slaying.
Last Thursday, Tate was charged in Wayne County, Illinois, with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Riley.
The new charges are specifically connected to an armed carjacking and kidnapping in St. Peter’s, Missouri, which ended with a brief standoff in Clinton County, Illinois. Tate was arrested in the Carlyle home of one of two hostages taken during the alleged crime spree.
Investigators with Illinois State Police say that, around 5 a.m. on Dec. 29, Riley responded to a “motorist assist” call on Interstate 64 eastbound at Milepost 115. When a second officer arrived on the scene, Riley was found dead and his squad car was missing. It was found abandoned a short time later east of the scene.
According to charges filed in Wayne County, Tate carjacked a tractor-trailer semi near where the squad car was located. Against his will, the truck driver took Tate to a gas station in St. Peters, about a three-hours drive away, authorities allege.
Later, St. Peters Police released security camera photos of an armed carjacking at a QuickTrip. The victim was taken to a local hospital with a bullet wound in his shoulder. Police said at the time they believed the crimes were connected to the shooting in Illinois.
Illinois State Police said Tate kidnapped another man at the convenience store and drove him to Clinton County.
The car was later located outside a home in rural Carlyle. The owner of the home, Leonard Cox, told KSDK-Channel 5 that law enforcement authorities were able to find them because of the smart watch the kidnap victim was wearing.
Cox described to KSDK-Channel 5 how the suspect forced him and the other man into the basement and held them hostage.
“He grabs the gun, sticks it right on my forehead and he tells them, ‘Tell them where the gun’s at.’ I told them, ‘It’s right on my forehead,’” Cox said.
A short time after that, SWAT officers entered Cox’s home and arrested Tate. Neither Cox nor the kidnap victim were injured.
Riley’s survivors include his wife, Leslie Riley, of Cisne and children Logan Brown, Deegan Riley and Mia Jo Riley, according to his obituary from Johnson & Vaughn Funeral Home in Fairfield.
His funeral was held Tuesday at the Fairfield Community High School gym. A law enforcement procession escorted his casket to Cisne Cemetery for burial.