2 found dead after shots fired, house fire in Sheridan, suspect in custody: LaSalle County sheriff

ByMaher Kawash, Cate Cauguiran, and Lissette Nuñez WLS logo
Friday, July 18, 2025 3:16AM
Suspect in custody in double murder, fire in LaSalle County: Sheriff
The LaSalle County Sheriff's Office took a suspect into custody after two people were found dead after shots were fired at a house fire in Sheridan.

SHERIDAN, Ill. (WLS) -- Two people are dead after a report of shots fired and a house fire in LaSalle County Thursday morning, the sheriff's office said.

After an hours-long extensive man hunt, LaSalle County Sheriff's Office said a suspect, 45-year-old Ronald Martin of Sheridan, is now in police custody.

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Officers received a report of shots fired at 12:52 a.m. 4200-block of 2551st Road in Sheridan Illinois and later received a report of a house fire at the residence.

After the fire was put out, police said they found two people dead inside the home.

"When the fire was put out deputies discovered two persons deceased inside the home," Lasalle County Undersheriff David Ortiz said.

Sheriff's deputies said a third person was injured by shrapnel as they were attempting to leave the area and was taken to the hospital to be treated. They were expected to be okay.

There is a trailer, some apartments and a house on the property where the crime occurred.

Video from Chopper 7, showed a yellow home with roof damage with several police vehicles surrounding it.

LaSalle County Sheriff's Office give an update after two people were found dead in Sheridan, Illinois.

Investigators said the suspect drove away from the scene. They then announced an arrest warrant for Martin. The suspect was later taken into custody, police said in an update after 6 p.m.

The 45-year-old was found hiding in the brush on his family's property in rural LaSalle about 30 miles away from where the crime scene.

"We obtained a search warrant for a property over in LaSalle on East 3rd Road," Ortiz said. "They had vehicles, there was trailers buildings on this property owned by the Martin family. We found the suspect hiding when he was taken into custody without incident."

Police did not say what the relationship is between the suspect and the two people who were found dead. Their identities have not been released.

Martin now faces six counts of murder charges

Investigators say Martin drove away in a red Dodge Ram pickup truck and using aerial surveillance and the help of Illinois State Police and U.S. Marshalls, they were able to track him to a large lot owned by the his family.

"With the help of air ops, which is the Illinois State Police plane, basically, up in the sky we were able to locate his vehicle on the property," Ortiz

There are a still a lot of unanswered questions and mounting heartbreak for the families of the victims as investigators work to determine why the tragedy happened.

Sheriff's deputies said autopsies for the victims are scheduled for Friday morning.

It's unclear when Martin will be due in court.

The sheriff's office says the fire that was started is already causing issues within the investigation.

At this time, they do not know if the two adult victims died from gunshot wounds or injuries suffered in the fire.

"It definitely makes the investigation more difficult if indeed these victims were deceased from gunshots, the fire is going to make it much harder to investigate," Ortiz said.

Officers brought a K-9 to the scene to help with their investigation. The state fire marshal's office also responded to the scene.

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