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Lake Shore Drive Standoff Ends With Suspect in Hospital

By  Alex Parker  and Darryl Holliday | March 16, 2014 1:29pm | Updated on March 16, 2014 11:17pm

 Lake Shore Drive is shut down after a homicide suspect from Georgia led police on a chase from Harvey.
Lake Shore Drive standoff
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LINCOLN PARK — A former Chicago-area man wanted for the murder of his wife led police on a chase that wound through Harvey, across several interstates, and ended in Lincoln Park more than eight hours after he crashed his car, igniting a standoff that ended late Saturday night, police said.

The suspect, identifed by his sister as Joseph Andrew Felton, Jr., 43, crashed his black car near the Fullerton Avenue exit on Lake Shore Drive, forcing police to close the road from Chicago Avenue to Bryn Mawr Avenue as heavily armored vehicles surrounded him and sharpshooters took aim. Traffic on Lake Shore Drive was backed up for miles.

Police in Henry County, Ga., say Felton killed his wife, Sheray Latriest Felton, on Saturday in Hampton, Ga. They tipped off police in Harvey Sunday afternoon that Felton may be in the area, providing descriptions of his vehicle, as well as GPS coordinates. Within minutes, Harvey police had located Felton, Harvey police said.

He led police on a car chase through Harvey, jumping on several interstate highways, and leading police - including officers from the Illinois State Police, Cook County Sheriff's Office and Chicago Police Department - north on Lake Shore Drive before crashing around 1 p.m.

Police, with the help of Felton's sister, LaStella Felton, tried to coax him out of the vehicle, only succeeding when they deployed a "distraction device" around 9:30, said Police Bureau of Patrol Chief Wayne Gulliford, speaking to reporters at the Town Hall District headquarters in Lakeview.

Gulliford said the suspect - he declined to identify him as Felton, saying an investigation is ongoing - struck two vehicles during the chase, including a Chicago Police car, sending one officer to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Two adults and a 10-year-old child were also injured when Felton's car struck theirs, he said. All were treated and released, Gulliford said.

He said Felton was considered "armed and dangerous," and was in the possession of knives, but not firearms, despite Felton's claims he had guns. Felton injuries were self-inflicted "or of his own actions," but Gulliford did not provide specifics. He also could not confirm reports that police had fired shots at the vehicle.

After police used the distraction device, Felton left his vehicle and police took him into custody, and to an area hospital for treatment.

LaStella Felton said she arrived at the scene about 1:30 p.m., and her brother, a Chicago-area native, moved to Atlanta with his wife about seven months ago. She said the situation is "devastating."

"We don't want him to be hurt, but we want justice to be served," she said. She speculated he had cut his wrists.

She said when she spoke to him in his car, "he wasn't making sense," adding he was "hollering and screaming."

"If he saw me or one of his sisters, maybe he'd come out," she said. "Look at all the police and armored vehicles, I'd probably stay in, too. But maybe if he saw a friendly face."

Felton's family lived in the area, but having family negotiate in situations like this is "not always the best solution," Gulliford said, noting negotiators spoke to Felton through bullhorns and gave him a phone.

The situation lasted more than eight hours.

"The ultimate goal is to resolve this safely without anyone getting injured," he said.