Scott Peters in custody, McHenry County manhunt ends

UNINCORPORATED MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- A 15-hour search for Scott Peters, accused of shooting two McHenry County sheriff's deputies, ended with his arrest in a wooded area near Crystal Lake. Peters allegedly opened fire on officers responding to a domestic violence call at his home in northwest suburban Holiday Hills.

It was a few minutes before 6 p.m. Thursday when police received a couple of phone calls about a suspicious man walking down the street. Moments later, an unarmed Peters was taken into custody about six miles away from his home.

It ended one of the biggest manhunts in McHenry County history.

Seen from a distance, Peters is taken into custody after the 15-hour manhunt. The 52-year-old was seen by Crystal Lake residents coming out of a wooded area and walking down a road.

"Our deputies approached him, took him into custody without incident," said McHenry County Sheriff.

The ordeal that brought out more than 250 police officers began at 1 a.m. Thursday . Three sheriff deputies were called to Peter's home for a possible domestic incident. As they approached the front door, Peter's, who is a military veteran, began to fire through the door.

A female deputy was shot in the leg, a male deputy shot in the leg and abdomen. While the third deputy came to their aid, Peters escaped and the manhunt began, his Holiday Hills subdivision was put on lockdown.

"I was sleeping and all of a sudden my bedroom door swung open, I thought it was my dad messing with me," said neighbor Brittany Thompson. "He said, 'police officer.' It was four men dressed in a SWAT team. He was asking me, 'Is there anyone else in your room?'"

Besides checking homes, trunks of cars were given a close inspection. Ground, air and grid searches were done all day. Peters managed to stay out of sight until he was spotted, unarmed, about six miles from his home.

Fred Bock lives in the area where Peters was caught. Bock is his friend and believes Peters may have been headed to Bock's home.

"My heart breaks for him because he experienced a lot of really bad things in his life," Bock said.

"Everything turned out fine, they did a great job," neighbor Leroy Beltz said.

Peters faces multiple charges, including attempted murder counts. He will appear in court Friday.

As for the sheriff's deputies, both had surgery Thursday. It will be a long road, but both are expected to fully recover.