Initial reports described two deputies shooting a man at the Fast Fuel gas station at Halsted and North Main around 11 AM on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, after a car pulled in and the passenger allegedly fired a shot that missed. Deputies then fired into the vehicle, and the incident was labeled an exchange of fire, with no total shot count disclosed.
Later, the victim was identified as Wainer Sousa Ancheta, and it was clarified the shooting was not accidental. Winnebago County Sheriff’s deputies knew who he was, knew he had a narcotics warrant, and had followed the white sedan to the gas station. Ancheta fired one shot, missing, and five deputies then shot into the vehicle, striking him multiple times. The deputies: Jake Marino, Fred Jones, Charles Grasley, Braid Kaizer, and Stan Metzler, were later named and placed on paid administrative leave, and the case was turned over to the Integrity Task Force led by the Rockford Police Department.
Trial reporting revealed deputies followed Ancheta from a Machesney Park residence in an unmarked dark Yukon. Testimony also showed Ancheta had recently faced threats, including relatives’ homes being shot at and being shot in the leg two days prior. Deputy Jake Marino testified he exited the vehicle without a marked vest, wearing jeans and a dark hoodie, already holding his gun. He claimed that within about three seconds he shouted “police,” saw Ancheta raise a gun, and then opened fire, after which multiple deputies fired into the car. The exact number of shots fired was never disclosed.
After the shooting was ruled justified, Ancheta was charged with attempted first degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, armed habitual criminal, and possession of a controlled substance. A jury later found him guilty of being an armed habitual criminal and possession of a controlled substance, but not guilty of attempted first degree murder or discharge of a firearm.
This incident was the 15th case investigated and deemed justified by the Winnebago Boone County Integrity Task Force, the 17th deadly force incident of the 2010s, and the fourth since Tom McNamara took office.