KS man charged in connection with Carbondale, IL officer shooting

CARBONDALE, IL (KFVS) - A Carbondale, Illinois Police Officer was shot on July 31 in 2016.

Alex B. Karcher, 24, of Salina, Ks is charged in relation to the shooting of Officer Trey Harris.

The State's Attorney for Jackson County, Illinois Michael C. Carr announced that a Jackson County grand jury has returned a Superseding Indictment on August 9.

Karcher was previously indicted with four others for conspiracy to possess with the intent to deliver more than 5,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis in Jackson and Williamson Counties. This trial was scheduled to begin Monday but was continued with consideration for the additional charges returned by the grand jury.

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Karcher now faces one count of aggravated battery and six counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm. All are class X felonies.

The Indictment alleges that Karcher, while acting with others, knowingly discharged a .223 caliber firearm, thereby causing injury to Officer Harris, a person he knew to be a peace officer performing his official duties.

The six counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm allege that Karcher fired six shots which did not hit the officer from a .223 caliber firearm in the direction of a vehicle he knew to be occupied by a peace officer while the officer was engaged in the execution of his official duties.

The sentences he could face range from 15 to 60 years on the aggravated battery charge, and from 10-45 years on each charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm. Probation is not available for these charges.

Karcher is currently being held in the Jackson County Jail with bond set at $2.5 million dollars. He will appear on Friday, August 10 in Jackson County Circuit Court on the Superseding Indictment.

Statment from Chief Jeff Grubbs:

This has been a long and difficult investigation and we are certainly very pleased those responsible are being brought to justice. We are very appreciative of all of our local, state and federal partners who continue to assist in the investigation.

The investigation is ongoing and is being pursued by the Illinois State Police, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, the Carbondale Police Department, the Metro-East Forensic Science Lab, the Southern Illinois Enforcement Group, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and Salina, Kansas Police Department.  State's Attorney Michael Carr is responsible for the prosecution.

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