Cottage Hills, Illinois

From the The Alton Telegraph of August 20, 2005

Cottage Hills brothers help catch gunman

When a wounded, "wanted" man came banging at Jimmy Harrison Sr.’s back door at 1 a.m. Aug. 11, the 57-year-old said he was ready -- with a gun.

Harrison knew that Derek K. Gilmer, 27, of Washington Park, was a fugitive from police, because he had been out looking for the man.

"I hunted him all evening in the woods behind my house," Harrison said. He said he wanted to find Gilmer so the fugitive wouldn’t break into his house and harm him and his brother, Danny, as they slept.

Harrison said he carried his gun as he combed woods and a creek area Wednesday, Aug. 10, near his home in the 200 block of West Drive in the Forest Homes area of Cottage Hills, east of Stanley Road.

He said he had called 911 earlier Wednesday when he saw the fleeing man in the area.

Harrison said police and deputies from the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois State Police gave up looking for Gilmer about 8 p.m. but that he continued his manhunt.

In the meantime, Gilmer apparently shot himself in the foot accidentally.

Gilmer then went looking for help at the door of the man who had been looking for him for hours. Harrison was outside at the time, having come back from his manhunt.

Gilmer, who could barely walk, crawled up to the porch, banged on the door and asked Harrison for a drink of water.

"He said, ‘Just call an ambulance,’" Harrison recalled. "I said, ‘Don’t move or else.’"

Harrison said the man probably did not know he was holding a gun in the dark. Harrison’s brother, Danny, who awoke when Gilmer banged on the door, stayed inside and called 911.

An ambulance and sheriff’s deputies rushed to Harrison’s home.

"The police wrestled him to the ground," Harrison said.

Harrison, who said he is partially disabled and weighs 149 pounds, said he was not afraid Gilmer would harm him.

"He ain’t getting a gun from me; I was an over-the-road truck driver. I’ve had some bad situations with people trying to shoot me."

Harrison said Gilmer was unarmed when he asked for help.

Lt. David Hayes, chief of detectives for the Alton Police Department, confirmed that Harrison called 911, leading to Gilmer’s capture, but he said Sheriff’s Department reports do not mention Harrison holding the fugitive at gunpoint.

"He called the Sheriff’s Department, and the Sheriff’s Department responded where they found a guy who was the victim of a gunshot wound to the foot," Hayes said. "At no time does (the report) say (Harrison) held (Gilmer) at gunpoint.

"There is no doubt Mr. (Danny) Harrison did assist in capturing Gilmer by notifying us," Hayes said. "He did the right thing. We worked in conjunction together and had a good resolution."

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