McHenry County Sheriff's Office Captures 2 Fugitives

Robert Gude denied he was the guy McHenry County Sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit deputies were looking for when he was stopped on Randall Road in St. Charles.

Deputies knew they had their man, especially when the tattoos matched his description.

“He knew the gig was up,” said Sgt. Anthony Penna, who heads the unit that caught Gude.

The McHenry County Fugitive Apprehension Unit captured two fugitives  — within an hour — from McHenry County’s Top 10 list. Gude, 33, of Huntley, was listed as No. 5.

“It was a good day,” Penna said. He and Sheriff’s Deputies Hector Garza and Ben Brock make up the unit, which also is assigned to a special task force with the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

The team has been looking for Gude since a judge issued an arrest warrant in March 2011. Gude was wanted on a criminal sexual assault charge from November 2010. He had disappeared and deputies suspected he had gone to Florida.

Deputies got a lead on his whereabouts from a tip on CrimeStoppers, Penna said.

The unit also captured Jeremiah B. Pedersen, 29, of Woodstock.

He was wanted on a failure to appear warrant related to charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of controlled substance and aggravated battery, according to reports.

The apprehension unit began searching for Pedersen three weeks ago, when a judge issued the warrant for his arrest. He has several pending drug cases in McHenry County, Penna said.

This week, the unit also was doing a warrant sweep throughout the county.

But the Top 10 list is made up of people who’ve disappeared despite the unit’s efforts to find them, he said.

“We try everything” to find fugitives, Penna said. The unit uses many tools, including computer programs and confidential sources, to search for the people on the list, he said. 

Working on the U.S. Marshal’s Office task force gives the unit — established in 2005 — more resources, he said. The unit, one of the few in the suburbs, also works with other counties.

Penna, Garza and Brock serve an average of two to four arrest warrants a day and do sweeps three or four times a year. 

It is unusual to catch two Top 10 fugitive in one week, much less one day. The list is made up of felons wanted on violent crimes such as murder and sexual assault, as well as drugs. Many are repeat offenders, Penna said.

“It’s a good feeling because we are taking repeat offenders off the street,” he said.

McHenry County Undersheriff Andrew Zinke said the Top 10 list will be updated and new names will be added soon.