Harris, from Facebook
LAWRENCE CO., Ill. - A Chauncey-area man is dead following what local sources advise was a suicide.
Sources in the area tell Disclosure that Evertt Harris, 45 of the Sumner-Chauncey area, was the subject of a number of warrants out of Illinois and Indiana, when on Wednesday (November 21), authorities were attempting to take him into custody on said warrants. Reports indicate that at least some, if not all, of the warrants were federal, and that there were eight out of the state of Indiana, and four out of Illinois. There are no records available online for any of these, as they apparently were only in the warrant stage and usually, online records aren't updated until after warrants are successfully served. However, there is a case out of Knox County in Indiana dating back to March 2016 involving charges of Arson, Burglary and Theft, which is unresolved.
At some point in time, while at his residence, Harris was aware that the authorities were closing in and, while they were there on the property and reportedly right in front of them, Harris shot himself to death.
Dennis R. Thacker, Jr.
Reports indicate that contrary to his assertions, Harris was somehow embroiled in the situation involving Dennis R. (DJ) Thacker Jr. and John P. York, the two who were busted north of Willow Hill in Jasper County in early March of 2016. In point of fact, Harris was the source on the evening of March 6, 2016, to us regarding the bust, resulting in why we had the material so early. His information was extremely detailed and we wondered about it; now, with this recent turn of events, we have a pretty good idea.
Whether the charges in Knox from 2016 had anything to do with the ongoing legal troubles Thacker and York were into in Jasper and Lawrence remains unknown at this point, but the timing is certainly suspect.
John P. York
To our knowledge, there's been no official information released about Harris' death. Generally, local media doesn't bother with suicides. However, because of the agency response that they generate, we have no compunction against publishing them...and this is literally something of a high-profile thing, since Thacker is now in federal prison and York continued to get in trouble - but stay free, for the most part - after his charges.
Apparently, somebody rolled, and Harris became the target of the rolling. And knowing the authorities in the area, we may never know the full truth...but if we find out more, we'll post. Be watching for updates.