UPDATED 3:37 P.M.
PEKIN, Ill. – A decision on whether to detain a man accused of shooting at police before a house explosion in Washington will wait a couple weeks.
39-year-old Scott Benway made his first court appearance via Zoom in a Tazewell County courtroom on Tuesday. Benway was in a wheelchair with casts on his arms, and bandages on his legs.
Benway was booked into the Tazewell County Jail on Monday night. Prosecutors say Benway was booked after being released from a burn unit, where he was being treated for injuries.
Benway is charged with Attempted Murder and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm for allegedly shooting at a police officer on Mother’s Day, as well as Residential Arson.
Benway is facing 40-100 years on the Attempted Murder charge, 10-45 years for the Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm charge, and 4-15 years for the Residential Arson charge.
Prosecutors argued for allowing Benway to be released to the custody of his mother under numerous conditions. Those conditions included GPS monitoring, not missing court appearances or medical appointments, ensuring Benway takes his medication, no firearms or materials to start fires in the house, and a mental fitness examination.
Before a ruling by Judge Chris Doscotch could take place, pretrial services informed the court that Benway was not medically cleared to wear an ankle GPS monitor. Doscotch then ruled that Benway was to be detained, for the time being, until a solution could be reached regarding GPS monitoring.
An arraignment hearing for Benway was then set for June 4th.
An affidavit filed on Tuesday provided further details of the Mother’s Day incident. Benway had reportedly made a 911 call just after 12:30 A.M. regarding “secret societies, cartels, meth labs and broader community corruption.” He reportedly also mentioned a possible dead body or a person cooking meth at a neighboring address.
Benway had reportedly made similar statements regarding a residence in East Peoria, and that his father or his father’s wife could be dead. He ended the call by reportedly telling the dispatcher that the police were part of the cartel, and acknowledged police were on the scene.
Police officers arrived for a wellness check at Benway’s residence at 902 Mallard Way, where Benway reportedly refused to answer the door. Police noticed a male open the blinds of the residence while wearing a ski mask and mumbling unintelligible words. Benway reportedly would not speak with medical professionals, and continued to insist that police were part of the cartels.
Additional officers from Washington, East Peoria, the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office, and Illinois State Police arrived on the scene after reports of gunfire came from the residence. Police then began evacuating nearby residents.
Benway was then contacted by police via phone, who reportedly told police that the situation would “end poorly” before hanging up. Several additional rounds were reportedly heard by police from inside the residence.
Benway then allegedly moved between multiple windows, as well as the inside of the residence and the back porch. He then allegedly fired multiple rounds at and over the heads of police officers while on the porch, causing one officer to return fire.
Benway then allegedly went back inside, with multiple rounds fired from inside the garage area. At around 5:43 A.M., a large explosion occurred, which caused “catastrophic damage” to the residence and the townhouse building. Benway was then taken into custody by police, and then taken to a hospital.
The affidavit states that investigators reportedly recovered at least one-loaded rifle magazine and a pistol. Investigators with the State Fire Marshal and Illinois State Police found a propane tank in the garage area with alleged defects in the tank, purportedly made from rounds from a firearm fired into the tank.
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WASHINGTON, Ill. (25 News) – A man has been arrested in connection with a fire and explosion at home in Washington.
Tazewell County Sheriff Jeff Lower confirms that 39-year-old Scott Tyler Benway was arrested by Illinois State Police and booked into the Tazewell County Jail in connection with the incident.
Lower told 25 News that Benway was booked on preliminary charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and residential arson.
Benway is scheduled to be in court Tuesday afternoon.
Illinois State Police are investigating.
The incident in the 900 block of Mallard Way left an estimated $800,000 in damage to a Washington neighborhood the morning of May 10.
Washington Police said one person inside a multi-unit home fired at officers, with one officer returning fire.
As of last week, three households were receiving aid from the Red Cross.
(Reporting by Jason Howell)
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