Drug officers approaching a home in a remote subdivision near Lake Zurich on Monday evening didn’t even have to knock on the door to know the anonymous tip had panned out.
Peeking over a wooden fence that bounded the back yard of Robert Cook’s ranch-style home, agents with the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group saw their suspect standing amid a small forest of marijuana plants, some more than 10 feet high, said Bill Dial, deputy director of MEG.
Cook, 56, dashed inside when confronted by the agents, authorities said. After he yelled out that he and his girlfriend were both armed, a standoff began.
Some 15 hours later, about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, police threw a canister of pepper spray into the home at 25223 Ellrie Ter. and subsequently heard two gunshots.
When they entered the home, they found Cook and his companion, 53-year-old Carol Johnson, whom Cook apparently killed before turning his gun on himself.
Both Johnson and Cook suffered single gunshot wounds to the head. A .38-caliber revolver and a .22-caliber handgun lay nearby. Johnson was pronounced dead on the scene. Cook died after being transported to Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
Cook’s death left police wondering why a man with one minor drug arrest on his record resorted to such extreme measures. Tuesday was Cook’s 56th birthday.
“It’s a tragic thing. I don’t know why he did what he did,” Dial said. “It’s one of the strangest cases I’ve been involved in.”
Officers communicated with Cook and Johnson over the phone and through a front window throughout the standoff, and brought in Cook’s attorney and close friend to mediate.
Throughout the standoff, Cook insisted that he would not be taken alive, frequently threatening to kill himself and police officers, Dial said.
“He was afraid to go to the penitentiary. He told us that many times,” Dial said. “Later in the night she started threatening to take her life too.”
Added Lake County Sheriff Gary Del Re: “It became clear that the female companion was not being held against her will.”
According to Jeffrey Pavletic, chief deputy state’s attorney, Cook could have faced 3 to 7 years in prison for possession of marijuana. If he was also involved in cannabis trafficking, he could have faced up to 14 years in prison.
“There are times when there is no logical, reasonable explanation as to when someone decides to terminate . . . not only their own life but that of another person,” Del Re said.
Authorities said the couple were trying to protect a full-service drug operation that planted, nurtured, harvested and packaged large quantities of marijuana.
Dial said agents found dozens of seedlings sprouting in a basement room, which would then be transplanted outdoors as the weather warmed in the spring. The mature plants would be harvested and the crop taken inside for processing.
Dial said driers and packaging equipment were confiscated, as well as two freezers stuffed full of marijuana packaged, labeled and ready for sale.
“This guy knew what he was doing when it came to pot cultivation,” said Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Thomas Braze.
Dial estimated the 50 to 75 mature plants in the back yard were worth as much as $60,000.
The back-yard plants were partially obscured by the fence and a wooded area, but police were surprised the operation had progressed that far.
“Anybody could see it,” Braze said. “It’s incredible he kept it under wraps.”
Neighbors said Cook and Johnson were quiet but personable when they moved into the Valentine Manor subdivision about 15 years ago. About six years ago, though, the couple pretty much shut out the outside world.
“They became even more isolated,” said Cheryl Giznik, who lives across the street. “You’d never see them, even on the weekends.”
Giznik’s mother, Colette, said Cook and Johnson brought over a baby gift when she gave birth about 15 years ago and sometimes asked whether she would accept packages if they were not home.
“You don’t know what the heck it was,” she said. “I have no clue, and especially now, I don’t want to know.”
According to neighbors, Cook and Johnson’s withdrawal coincided with Cook’s drug arrest. Police confirmed that Cook was picked up for marijuana possession in Schaumburg in 1991 but never was convicted.
“I don’t know any neighbors that really knew them,” said Pat Miro, who lived down the block. “I never noticed anything unusual.”
Besides the marijuana, police confiscated prescription pills such as Valium that appeared to be packaged for sale, and paraphernalia to smoke marijuana and ingest cocaine.
Additionally, they uncovered what appeared to be a side business.
“It appears he was selling pirated records and tapes,” Dial said. “The house was full of old 45 records and old albums, and he had all kinds of video and audio tapes.”
