Clinton County man pleads guilty to murdering his former girlfriend
Emmet E. Metzger, 27, admitted to retrieving a 9mm Taurus G2C pistol from his bedroom on the evening of Nov. 4, 2023, and shooting Alexis Maki multiple times in the living room of their shared apartment on Hanover Street in New Baden.
'I commend the New Baden Police Department, the Clinton County Sheriff's Department and the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit for their thorough investigation of this horrendous crime,' said Clinton County State's Attorney J.D. Brandmeyer in a statement. 'While no sentence can undo the devastating act committed that evening, I hope this conviction and the forthcoming sentencing will help provide some measure of closure to the many friends and family of Alexis.'
Metzger could face a sentence of 45 years to life in prison, Brandmeyer said. Sentencing is scheduled for June 9.
According to court records, Metzger called 911 on the night of the shooting and told dispatchers that he had shot Maki. Police later found her body with multiple gunshot wounds to her neck, chest, shoulder and hip.
During an interview with investigators, Metzger said he and Mati had previously been in a dating relationship. After the shooting, he told them, he dropped the gun on the living room floor, ran down the stairs of the two-story apartment building and called 911.
'I (expletive) up,' Metzger told the dispatcher. 'I did something so bad. I shot my girlfriend. I need to be arrested, please.'
According to police, just hours earlier, Metzger assaulted one of Mati's co-workers in the parking lot of Grit and Tonic in Lebanon, where Mati worked.
In addition to the gun, police recovered a security camera in the apartment that recorded footage of the shooting.
Maki was employed as a mixologist at Grit and Tonic on the weekends and attended classes at Kaskaskia College during the week to study radiology. She was a graduate of Wesclin High School in Trenton.
'Anyone who had the pleasure of knowing Alexis knew she loved to spend quality time with her family and friends,' her obituary stated. 'Alexis also had an undeniable passion for bartending, traveling, gaming and caring for animals in need. On top of that, she was a proud pet parent of her beloved dog, 'Echo,' and her cats, 'Scout' and 'Honey.''
Maki's mother, Lisa Brock, said there was 'something different' about her daughter.
'She was just so special that people were drawn to her,' she said in an interview with the BND in November 2023. 'They would comment about her, just the smile on her face and the light that she radiated. She was truly … just the kindest, sweetest person.'
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Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Miami Herald
Alligator Alcatraz isn't meant for minors. A 15 year old ended up there anyway
In the rush to open a detention camp in the Florida Everglades for 'some of the most vicious' migrants illegally in the country, state and federal officers detained a 15-year-old boy with no criminal record and sent him in handcuffs to Alligator Alcatraz, the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times have learned. The teenager, a Mexican national whose name is Alexis, was a passenger in a vehicle stopped in Tampa by Florida Highway Patrol troopers and later handed over to federal immigration authorities on July 1. His father spoke to the Herald/Times and said his son spent three days in the tents and chain-link pens at the pop-up detention center, making him one of the first immigrant detainees shuttled to site. State and federal officials initially deflected questions or denied that Alexis had been locked up at the facility. But on Wednesday, the DeSantis administration acknowledged that they had in fact held the teenager at Alligator Alcatraz, and said that he lied about his age when stopped by law enforcement. 'While at Alligator Alcatraz, an individual disclosed they had misrepresented their age upon arrest to ICE. Immediate action was taken to separate and remove the detainee in accordance with federal protocols,' said Stephanie Hartman, a spokeswoman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the site. Alexis, whom the Herald/Times is identifying only by his first name because he is a minor, was transferred out of Alligator Alcatraz on July 4. He is now in the custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and being held at a shelter for migrant children. The state maintains no minors will be held at Alligator Alcatraz, but the boy's detention shows how wide a net the DeSantis and Trump administrations have cast in their zeal to round up undocumented immigrants — and the haste with which state and federal authorities have acted to send detainees to a facility billed as a game-changer in the effort to speed up deportations. Alexis' father, Ignacio, says he is trying to reunite with his son — a kid who likes to watch Dragon Ball Z cartoons and play basketball. Ignacio, whose full name is being withheld by the Herald/Times because he is undocumented and concerned about being deported, says it is hard to see his son's clothes, shoes and toys around the house while he is away. 'When you're apart from your kids, you miss them. If you don't see them, you feel their absence,' said Ignacio, who said his son followed him to Florida two years ago after he fled his hometown in Chiapas, Mexico due to violence. Ignacio said he came to the United States in 2018 with a work visa that he overstayed. 'I am pleading with God that we can be reunited,' Ignacio said. Detained in Tampa Alexis' journey to Alligator Alcatraz began with a decision to tag along with friends who were on a July 1 trip to Tampa, his dad said. It's not clear why, but at some point, Florida Highway Patrol pulled their vehicle over. Troopers then called immigration authorities. Ignacio said his son told officers he was an adult because he feared that if he disclosed he was a minor he would be separated from the group. 'It was because of fear.' Alexandra Manrique Alfonso, an immigration attorney who has since spoken with Alexis, said he was put in handcuffs and transferred to a detention center that the boy described as having tents, bunk beds and cells surrounded with chain-linked fencing. The 15-year-old told her he had been housed with adults. After Alexis' arrest, Ignacio didn't hear from his son for three days. 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Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement directed reporters to Florida officials. Safeguards Word spread quickly among detainees at Alligator Alcatraz that a minor had been held inside the facility. Attorneys heard about it, too, and began to ask questions. Manrique Alfonso, the director of the Children's Legal Program at Americans for Immigrant Justice, first heard about Alexis' case on July 10. She interviewed him on July 11 during a video call. The teenager spoke to her from a shelter for migrant children. During the interview, she asked him to describe the facility. She shared her screen, and showed him a picture of Alligator Alcatraz, which he identified as the place where he had been temporarily held. On July 1, the day before the first detainees arrived at the detention center, President Donald Trump said during a visit that the facility would soon house 'some of the most vicious people on the planet.' Records reviewed last week by the Herald/Times show that, like Alexis, hundreds of detainees who were slated to be sent to Alligator Alcatraz or were already there had no criminal convictions or pending charges. 'The case is important to highlight to ensure that there is oversight and safeguards in place because an adult facility is not a place for a child,' Manrique Alfonso said in an interview. Manrique Alfonso has talked with Alexis' father and has offered to represent his son. She said she is scheduled to meet with the boy in person on Thursday. The state did not respond with specifics when asked what steps are being taken to ensure children are not held at the facility, only saying 'minors are not detained at Alligator Alcatraz.' When the Herald/Times first contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the Division of Emergency Management on Monday about Alexis' detention at Alligator Alcatraz, they deflected or denied that a minor had been sent to the site. 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20-06-2025
Teen charged with 4 counts of murder in Utah carnival shooting
Prosecutors in Utah charged a 16-year-old boy with four counts of murder Friday for allegedly shooting to death three people, including an infant and pregnant woman, in an apparent gang confrontation at a carnival. In all, five people, including two teens wounded in the arm, were shot late Sunday at WestFest in West Valley City, a Salt Lake City suburb. The shooting happened a day after one at a 'No Kings' protest the day before, making for an unusually violent weekend for the Salt Lake City area. Two of those killed were bystanders: the 8-month-old boy and 41-year-old pregnant woman, Fnu Reena, 41, of West Jordan, Utah. An 18-year-old man slain, Hassan Lugundi, of West Valley City, was the apparent intended target, according to a police affidavit filed in the case. 'I'm gonna tell you guys right now, I know what I hit because I know where I was aiming, and I know where I was shooting. I did not hit no baby,' the teen allegedly told police soon after the shooting. Police learned later that Reena was eight weeks pregnant, resulting in the fourth murder count under Utah law. Shot in her head, Reena had just been in for a medical checkup that day, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said at a news conference Friday. The infant, also shot in the head, was in a stroller with his twin sibling, who was unhurt. The infant was unrelated to the other victims. A 17-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were each shot in the arm, and a pregnant woman was injured while trying to flee over a fence, according to police. Besides the murder charges, the alleged shooter faced nine felony counts of discharging a firearm resulting in serious injury. Each murder charge could bring a life sentence if not the death penalty for an adult. As a juvenile, the suspect was ineligible for the death penalty or life in prison. Prosecutors asked that the teenager remain jailed without bond. Court documents did not identify an attorney for the youth who could speak on his behalf. The gun used in the shooting was a Taurus G2C 9 mm handgun reported stolen in Louisiana, according to police. The alleged shooter was a member of the Titanic Crip Society, a rival of the Bloods gang. Lugundi was friends with Bloods members, according to the affidavit. The WestFest carnival, a celebration of the establishment of West Valley City and of its cultural diversity, was winding down after drawing as many as 10,000 people over the weekend. Between 1,000 to 2,000 people were still present when the shooting happened. The apparently unrelated shooting at the 'No Kings' protest the day before happened when a man believed to be part of a peacekeeping team for the rally shot at a man brandishing a rifle at demonstrators, striking both the rifleman and a bystander. The rifleman had relatively minor injuries, but the bystander died at a hospital.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Police release new details about UTV crash that took life of Clinton County teen
Macy M. Haar, a 16-year-old junior at Breese Central Community High School, was driving a Utility Terrain Vehicle, or UTV, during the crash that led to her death, according to the Clinton County Sheriff's Department. The incident involved multiple vehicles occupied by teenagers, including the 2023 Solaris Ranger UTV that Haar was driving and a second UTV driven by a juvenile, according to the latest news release issued Monday by the sheriff's department. A UTV is a type of all-terrain work or recreation vehicle also known as a side-by-side. Friday was 'Alternative Vehicle Day,' an event sponsored by Central's student council and Future Farmers of America chapter. The website says that on these days, 'students that have CHS driving privileges are invited to parade to school in a mode of transportation that is beyond (their) normal vehicle.' The fatal crash happened after they left the Central High School parking lot. Haar died after the UTV she was driving lost control and hit a ditch. She was ejected from the vehicle, the release says. The sheriff's department released the following details about the crash, which were derived from multiple witness statements: Multiple vehicles, including the two UTVs, left the school's parking lot just before 3 p.m., headed east on Old U.S. Highway 50, then turned south on Drive In Road in rural Breese. The vehicles were driving at or near the speed limit. Haar was carrying a passenger in her Ranger UTV. Four other teenagers occupied the second UTV. The UTV Haar was driving started out in front of the other vehicles. It will be called 'the first UTV' below. Roughly a half mile south of Highline Road, Haar's UTV began swerving for unknown reasons. The other UTV tried to pass, but the Ranger accelerated. The second UTV managed to pull in front and Haar braked hard 'as, or just before the (second UTV) merged toward the southbound side of the roadway.' Haar lost control of the Ranger UTV. A Chevy Silverado, driven by a 16-year-old, was trailing Haar and swerved to avoid a collision. It pulled toward the other side of the roadway, sustaining damage when doing so. As the Silverado skidded out of control, the Ranger UTV hit a ditch and ejected Haar onto the roadway. The Clinton County Sheriff, in an earlier release, said emergency personnel arrived 'within minutes' of receiving a 911 call reporting the crash, and that Haar died before they arrived. Illinois State Police Crash Reconstruction Team continues to investigate. It's not known if those in the UTVs were wearing helmets or seatbelts, or if the teenager driving the Silverado was wearing their seatbelt. Clinton County Sheriff Dan Travous did not respond to BND's two attempts to reach him on Monday. Dustin Foutch, the superintendent of Central Community High School District 71, said Haar's death is tragic, adding that the junior always seemed to have a smile on her face whenever he saw her. Foutch said that the school tells students they need to have street-legal vehicles on Alternative Vehicle Day, which includes a tractor parade. Foutch said participating students meet at a tractor supply store, at which point police escort the parade of tractors to the school. This is a common tradition put on by FFA chapters in rural areas, Foutch said. At the end of the day, those who brought tractors to school are dismissed at a different-than-usual time to avoid traffic with other vehicles in the lot, Foutch said. The UTVs are not street legal in Illinois and Clinton County ordinance provide none of the allowable contingencies by state statute. A petition was started on urging the school district to stop alternative vehicle days in response to the crash and Haar's death. As of Monday evening, the petition had 112 signatures. The petition's description says it was started by the sister of one of the students involved in the crash. 'Alternative Vehicle Day might seem like an entertaining way for students to display their creativity and vehicles, but the reality is grim,' the petition states. 'Each year, there are reports of accidents, some unfortunately resulting in serious injuries or even fatalities. The excitement and joy quickly turn to chaos and heartbreak, affecting not only the immediate families and friends but the entire community of Clinton County, Illinois. ... 'It is time to reevaluate whether such events are worth the possible consequences. Our goal with this petition is straightforward and crucial — cease the organization of Alternative Vehicle Day at Breese Central High before more tragedies unfold. The petition includes an upate that says the school will no longer have Alternative Vehicle Day. When asked about this, Foutch told the BND that the district will evaluate how to be more specific on what vehicles can and cannot be used on these days. Central Community High School will have an e-learning day on Wednesday, May 14, to allow students and staff the opportunity to attend Haar's funeral. The funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. that day at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Germantown. The school's counseling staff and the Coping 4 Life team are available to help students, along with the school's faculty and staff, says a district Facebook post. 'Macy was an incredible young person whose beautiful smile and giving spirit touched everyone she met,' the post reads. 'Her unforgettable personality and kindness made a lasting impact at Central, and she will be missed by all who knew her. Macy truly made our school, and the world, a better place.'
