A college dropout arrested Tuesday in the shooting death of an unarmed guard in the Illinois Capitol has a history of mental illness and has not been taking medication, prosecutors said as Derek W. Potts, 24, was ordered held in lieu of $20 million bail.
Police picked Potts up on a residential street early Tuesday, less than a day after the shooting and following a night in which he apparently wandered local neighborhoods, bought new clothes and sipped ice water in a pub as authorities frantically searched for him.
Potts knocked on the doors of several houses and asked for a ride to the police station before police arrested him, authorities said. In custody, the former criminal justice major who dropped out of the Un iversity dropped out of the University of llinois at Springfield last week did not speak to police, eventually requesting a public defender by pointing to a written copy of the standard Miranda warning that guarantees a suspect’s right to a lawyer.
Neighbors who live in the same apartment complex as Potts said he had appeared increasingly erratic in the last few weeks. Police said they believe he stole a shotgun from a local gun shop on Sept. 14, the day after he quit school.
Authorities said they do not know if there was a link between Potts and security guard William Wozniak, 51, the shooting victim, and are describing the killing as “random.” Investigators say they don’t know what triggered Potts’ alleged spree. Potts is accused of trying to rob the same gun shop Monday before shooting Wozniak just inside the north entrance of the state Capitol.
Funeral services were being planned for Thursday for Wozniak, a quiet-spoken veteran of the secretary of state’s security force. As state workers filed into the Capitol on their way to work Tuesday, a pile of flowers grew on the sign-in table at the entrance where Wozniak had been a fixture.
Death penalty considered
“This was an extremely violent crime,” said John Schmidt, the Sangamon County state’s attorney. “You’re talking about a very violent situation, a random act, that has shaken this community to its core.” He said he is considering seeking the death penalty.
In Olney, Potts’ southern Illinois hometown, acquaintances were stunned by the murder charges. Though Potts had a few minor run-ins with police, local residents said they were unaware that he suffered from bipolar disorder. Authorities said they learned of his illness from Potts’ mother, who also told them he was not taking medication to control it.
In Springfield, where Potts had lived only a few weeks, those who knew him described strange behavior, especially in recent days.
One resident of his apartment building saw Potts pacing in front of the building the day before the shooting.
“He was putting his hand on his forehead,” said Jennifer Miller, 22. “I thought about saying something to him.”
Last week, he dropped his classes at UIS a day before allegedly stealing the weapon from the Birds N Brooks gun shop. Authorities said he returned to the shop with the stolen gun on Monday, demanded an assault weapon, and exchanged fire with owner Dale Patterson. In the confusion, Patterson shot his adult son in the shoulder. The son was released from the hospital Tuesday.
Little more than one hour after the gun shop incident, Wozniak was at his post in the Capitol when Potts allegedly drove up near the entrance, walked in the doors, shot the guard once in the chest at close range with the stolen shotgun, and drove away. After the shooting, police believe Potts wandered around neighborhoods within walking distance of his apartment building, which is near the governor’s mansion.
Police said Potts apparently purchased new clothing and was wearing a polo shirt and a pair of white pants when he arrived at D’Arcy’s Pint only hours after the shooting.
The co-owner of the pub said Potts sat quietly at a corner table in the bar, drank water and looked out the window. She said Potts explained he was waiting for someone to pick him up.
Around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, police received several calls from a neighborhood near the center of town about a young man fitting Potts’ description who was knocking on doors and requesting a ride to the police station. One woman said she had come downstairs to find a clean-cut man sitting in the lawn chair on her front porch, holding her morning paper.
“When he heard me, he stood up, and he looked at me through the door,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified. “I didn’t open the door. I don’t open the door for strangers. He pointed to the paper and said, `Here’s your paper.’ Then he said he wanted to use the telephone.”
A few minutes later and a few blocks away, Potts peacefully surrendered to police.
“I heard a lot of car doors closing, so I looked out the window to see what was going on,” said Phil Giger, who saw Potts standing on his front curb surrounded by police. “They were talking to him very quietly, very professionally, and he left without a fight.”
In Olney, some acquaintances described Potts as a polite man interested in school. Potts had attended Olney Central College before transferring to UIS.
In law enforcement classes at Olney, Potts was an attentive student, said Stephanie Richards, 20. “He was really involved in class, asking questions,” she said. “He sat up front and paid attention.”
But others in town describe a different side to Potts. Prosecutors say that, in addition to mental illness, Potts’ background includes charges of underage drinking and possession of marijuana.
Erratic behavior described
In Olney, the mother of a friend remembered a troubled side to the thin boy. Georgia Lambird thought Potts seemed unmanageable. “He’s always been in trouble, little scraps,” she said.
In Springfield, residents of the building where Potts lived called him “Rain Man” after the autistic movie character.
“The first time I tried to talk to him, he seemed like a really nice guy,” said UIS graduate student Phil Davidson. “And then, I just got the sense that something might be wrong, and I just started not approaching him.”
Davidson said he arrived home from classes at about 9 p.m. Thursday and saw Potts sitting in his car in the parking lot. “No lights on, no music on, just completely dark,” Davidson said. “I remember thinking to myself, `Why is he sitting in his car by himself?'”
