Man accused of shooting Granite City officer previously pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder
The man wanted in the shooting of a Granite City police officer previously served time in prison for second-degree murder in the death of a teenager in a St. Clair County crash.
He also has made suicidal statements and told his mother “he does not intend to return to prison,” according to court records.
Donald J. Friese, 39, is the subject of a manhunt after a Granite City police officer was shot Tuesday night when he and another officer attempted to search for a weapon on Friese, court records state.
The officer was shot in an arm and has been released from a hospital.
Investigators believe Friese sustained at least one gunshot wound to the lower abdomen when the second officer returned fire.
Friese has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use or possession of weapons by a felon.
Officers had responded to the 2400 block of Delmar Avenue at about 10:08 p.m. Tuesday when they encountered Friese.
After the shooting, Friese fled on foot but then returned to the residence and escaped in a vehicle, according to court records.
A dispatcher told officers that the subject had been acting “crazy” and was saying that his gun was stolen, according to court records.
Granite City Police Chief Nick Novacich said in a news conference Wednesday that Friese used his own weapon in the shooting and not one of the officers. This weapon has not been recovered but the vehicle he used has been.
“The suspect was around the back of the house,” Novacich said in describing the scene. “The officers went around to the back of the house and started talking to him.
“As they were talking to him, his actions indicated something more was going on,” he said. “So the officers became a little more suspicious of his activities and when they tried to engage with him and talk to him further, it turned into a scuffle and in the scuffle one of our officers was shot in the arm.”
Novacich said that he does not yet know the long-term prognosis for the officer but that he hopes he can return to duty soon because he’s a “rock star police officer.”
The officer has about 10 years of experience in law enforcement and is a combat veteran.
Novacich praised the actions of the other officer for applying a tourniquet to the wounded partner. This officer has about 2 1/2 years of experience.
Novacich said he did not yet know if both officers returned fire or if it was just one officer as indicated in court records.
Illinois State Police troopers were called to investigate “the use of force portion of this incident,” according to a state police news release.
Novacich said he believes his officers handled the shooting correctly and that state police will not find anything wrong with the officers’ actions.
Court records show that the officers were wearing body cameras that were in operation at the time of the shooting.
Previous charges
Friese pleaded guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder and was given a 12-year prison sentence for causing the death of Mercedes Ferrarie-Troisi, 18, in 2013.
Friese originally had been charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
It stemmed from a crash on April 29, 2013, when Ferrarie-Troisi was ejected from a vehicle after two vehicles had been going over 100 mph. Friese was driving one of the vehicles and rammed into the other vehicle, according to a Belleville News-Democrat account of Friese’s sentencing hearing in 2016.
Friese was released from state prison before serving the entire 12-year sentence.
“This individual is a convicted felon. He has been in prison. This is not his first rodeo,” Novacich said when asked if he was frustrated with Friese being on the streets.
“Criminals don’t play by rules,” he said. “I don’t expect him to play by any rule.
“He’s acting exactly the way we would expect him to act and yes, that’s very frustrating.”
At the time of the fatal crash in 2013, Friese was on home confinement on a federal narcotics charge. He had a total of five felony convictions at the time of his sentencing hearing in 2016.
In August, Friese was charged with two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude police in St. Clair County. He has a preliminary hearing on those charges scheduled for Friday.
The court records that contain comments from Friese’s mother are part of the Madison County State’s Attorney’s petition for a pretrial detention if Friese is arrested on the Granite City charges.
This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 6:18 PM.
