Jeremy Gaughan, a veteran of more than two decades with the Gurnee police, has been appointed the department’s new police chief.
He was formally sworn in on Dec. 1 during the regular Village Board meeting.
Gaughan, who has served the GPD since 2002, replaces outgoing chief Brian Smith.
“Chief Gaughan is a proven leader whose experience, character, and dedication make him the right person to guide the Gurnee Police Department forward,” Mayor Thomas Hood said. “His commitment to accountability, professionalism, and community partnerships reflects exactly what our residents expect and deserve.”
During his tenure with the GPD, Gaughan has served as deputy chief of operations, commander of investigations, patrol sergeant and member of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.
He also had a distinguished military career, retiring after 22 years in the U.S. Army Reserves. He served two deployments in Iraq and was cited for meritorious service. Gaughan has also been awarded the Gurnee police Medal of Honor, among other honors.
Thanksgiving argument
A Beach Park man remains in jail after, police say, he set a fire at his house following a Thanksgiving argument with family members.
Erik J. Crump, 21, is facing aggravated arson charges following the fire at his home in the 40100 block of North Lone Oak Road on Nov. 27, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Police said they were called to the residence at about 7:30 p.m. for a verbal domestic dispute. Crump, police said, was antagonizing and arguing with others in the house.
There were no crimes committed initially, police said, so officers left after Crump said he would keep to himself the rest of the evening. About an hour later, police returned after a fire was reported at the house.
Officers said they saw Crump standing on the side of the road about a block from the house, holding a knife, and that he fled. Police tracked him to a storage facility on North Lewis Avenue, and he was arrested.
Police said Crump used an accelerant to light a fire in his room after he was told he was being kicked out of the house. The house sustained major damage, but there were no injuries.
“It’s nothing short of a blessing that nobody was injured or killed in this senseless act,” Sheriff John Idleburg said. “While families across Lake County were sitting down for Thanksgiving, our dispatchers were answering the call, and our deputies were out responding to them.
“Our team, along with our fire service partners, responded within minutes, secured the area, helped ensure the fire was extinguished, and took this individual into custody before anyone else was put at risk,” he said.
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A Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, woman is facing firearms charges after she shot someone she knew in the parking lot of a Gurnee motel on Thanksgiving night, police said.
Angela M. Mack, 40, was arrested for aggravated discharge of a firearm and other counts after the shooting, which police said resulted from a domestic dispute.
Gurnee police said Mack and someone she knows had become embroiled in a dispute in a neighboring town. Mack and the victim pulled into a parking lot near the Grand Avenue and Interstate 94 intersection at 9:44 p.m.
Video showed a man getting out of the passenger side of a van and Mack getting out of the driver’s side and firing multiple times, hitting the man once in the leg, according to police.
They then returned to the van and left the area before heading to a hospital for treatment, police said.
Police said they learned of the shooting the following day and arrested Mack following an investigation.
