Suspect arrested in North Dakota in connection with La Salle shooting

A second suspect in a July shooting in La Salle has been apprehended and awaits extradition proceedings in North Dakota.

La Salle police said in a news release that Jerron D. Fisher, 26, of Stanley, North Dakota (formerly of Ottawa) was picked up at 4 p.m. Thursday in Stanley by the U.S. Marshal’s High Plains Fugitive Task Force.

Fisher was wanted on a La Salle County warrant for aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony carrying four to 15 years in prison, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 2 felony carrying three to seven years.

La Salle police said the warrant was issued after an investigation into a July 28 shooting in the 100 block of Tonti Street in La Salle. During the incident, police said, Fisher suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and “was uncooperative in the ensuing investigation.”

“During the investigation, it was determined Fisher also discharged a firearm toward a subject, Leeonta T. Patton, [who] has also been charged in the incident,” police said.

Fisher was transported to the Mountrail County Jail in North Dakota, where he is being held pending an extradition hearing.

Further arrests are expected in regard to this ongoing investigation, police said.

“Sometimes in cases like this where there is a lack of cooperation, the case goes stale, and both law enforcement and prosecutors have a difficult time moving the case forward,” La Salle Police Chief Mike Smudzinski said. “This is not the case in the city of La Salle, and my department will not tolerate this type of behavior, as it puts innocent citizens of La Salle in harm’s way, and clearly the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office feels the same way.

“I hope this case, as unfortunate as it is, makes individuals think twice about gun violence in the city of La Salle, because if you decide to commit such acts, our officers will ensure you are brought to justice.”

The La Salle Police Department was assisted in the investigation by the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office, the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshal’s High Plains Fugitive Task Force, Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services and the Oglesby Police Department.

Patton, who is facing other charges, was a suspect in a July 28 shooting in downtown La Salle during which a man was shot and injured, police and prosecutors have said.