Sheriff: Man wanted in Rock Falls shooting arrested after 10-hour standoff

MORRISON — A man wanted on a Whiteside County warrant in connection with a shooting in Rock Falls last week has been taken into custody.

Johnathon P. Parker, 40, was taken into custody in the 1600 block of Riverdale Road, Rock Falls, after a 10-hour standoff with police, according to a post on the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page Sunday morning.

Parker, who police had said was armed and dangerous, was wanted for one count of aggravated battery with a firearm in connection with an Oct. 28 shooting in Rock Falls.

Police were called about 2:15 a.m. Oct. 28 to the 900 block of West Fifth Street for a report of a person who had been shot. When officers arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound inside a residence, according to a news release. The initial investigation showed the man was shot outside the residence and that the shooter fled on foot. The injured person was taken to CGH Medical Center for treatment of an injury that was not life-threatening, according to police.

Parker up until Oct. 25 was being held in the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on charges of violating probation in a 2021 stolen vehicle case. He pleaded guilty in April 2022 to possession of a stolen vehicle and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and 24 months of probation.

He appeared in custody Oct. 25 at the Whiteside County Courthouse and was released subject to a prior pretrial release conditions order.

He now is being held in the Whiteside County Jail on no bond, according to the Facebook post.

The Illinois State Police, Sterling Police Department and Rock Falls Fire Department assisted the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office in taking Parker into custody.