Harvard man shot by deputies charged with threatening to kill deputy

A Harvard man McHenry County sheriff’s deputies shot during a standoff more than three weeks ago, in which he allegedly pointed a rifle at an officer and threatened her life, has been charged with 10 felony crimes related to the shooting, authorities said.

Randall B. Little, 58, of the 19900 block of Streit Road, is accused of intimidating a McHenry County sheriff’s deputy with a short-barrel rifle, pointing the gun at her and threatening to kill her if she didn’t leave his property, according to criminal complaint.

McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally identified Little Thursday as the man shot by deputies.

Little also is charged with possessing two firearms as a felon and between 20 and 50 marijuana plants, according to the complaint.

The most serious of the offenses – armed violence – is a Class X felony, which if convicted of, typically carries sentences of six to 30 years in prison and is not probational.

Authorities previously said three McHenry County sheriff’s deputies were involved in an April 1 shooting that left an armed man hospitalized. Only one, Deputy Gabriela Valencia, was named in the criminal complaint as the officer Little pointed the weapon at.

Valencia was sworn in as a McHenry County deputy in September, according to a Facebook post by the department. At that point, she was headed to the police academy, according to the post.

The other deputies – who have not been publicly identified – have been with the department six years and 16 years, McHenry County sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Ellis has said. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office declined Thursday to release the other deputies’ names, saying the investigation is ongoing.

Kenneally declined to comment on anything regarding Valencia or the other deputies or on the investigation into whether the shooting was justified. His office ultimately will make that determination following the McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team’s investigation.

All three deputies were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation by the McHenry County Major Investigation Assistance Team, which was brought in as an outside third-party because the shooting involved a deputy.

Deputies were dispatched about 8 p.m. April 1 to the 19900 block of Streit Road for a well-being check, according to a news release from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office on MIAT’s behalf the following day. When police arrived, a man came out of the residence with a firearm and “an armed confrontation occurred,” according to the release.

“The deputies discharged their firearms, ultimately striking the subject. No deputies were injured during the confrontation,” according to the release.

The man, now identified as Little, was taken by the Harvard Fire Protection District to Mercy Harvard Hospital and then flown to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford in critical condition, the agency said in the statement.

He was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Wisconsin, Kenneally said earlier this month.

Little was not in custody at the McHenry County Jail as of Thursday morning and there were no plans as of Thursday morning to transport him to the jail, Deputy Kevin Byrnes said in an email Thursday morning.

Kenneally also declined Thursday afternoon to say where Little was.

Attempts to reach to Cary Police Chief Patrick Finlon, who is also the secretary and temporary head of MIAT, were unsuccessful Thursday. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office referred all questions about the investigation to MIAT.

Little was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, one in May 2020 and a second in June 2020.

Little’s felony record dates back to the 1980s when he was indicted in September 1989 on illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, possession of a firearm without a valid firearm owner’s identification card and unlawful use of weapons.

McHenry County court records do not indicate what the underlying felony was or where it occurred.

He took a plea deal in January 1990, pleading guilty to possession of a firearm as a felony, and was sentenced to 164 days in jail and two years of probation, court records show.

In September 1992, Little was accused of striking a man in the back of his head and on the left side of his face with his fist while at the train depot lot in downtown Woodstock, according to the misdemeanor complaint. Little was then living in Crystal Lake.

That same day, he also was accused of kicking another man in the leg at the train station, according to a separate criminal complaint.

He was convicted of two counts of misdemeanor battery and sentenced to 30 days in jail and one year of conditional discharge with periodic imprisonment, court records show.

In August 1992, he was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly yelling profanities at a woman in Crystal Lake. The case was dismissed at the time of the sentencing in the battery cases, court records show.

Little had no further criminal record in McHenry County until May 2020 when he was accused of “yelling, swearing and making threats, stating he was ‘a dangerous man,’ ‘that he was a good shot and could come shoot people’ and that he would shoot ‘in the head’” while at the Walmart in Harvard, according to a criminal complaint.

He also was accused of yelling and swearing at another person at the Harvard Walmart, asking him if he wanted to fight, according to another complaint in the case.

The next month, he was charged again with disorderly conduct for telling a county employee that he was going to “burn the place down,” referring to the county administrative building, according to the complaint.

Little took a plea deal in June 2021 on both cases, pleading guilty to one count of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge, 30 hours of public service, alcohol treatment and $689 in fines and fees.