Tate Pleads Guilty to Murder of Deputy Riley

The man charged with the shooting death of Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Riley in December has pleaded guilty.

40-year-old Ray Tate, Jr. of Mt. Vernon Thursday pleaded guilty to a charge of Murder in Deputy Riley's shooting death in Wayne County on December 29.

Sentencing for Tate has been scheduled for April 22.

Tate had faced 38 criminal counts including murder. The remaining counts were dismissed as part of the guilty plea.

Deputy Riley had been called for a motorist assist on Interstate 64 in Wayne County. State troopers say the motorist assist was phoned in by a passerby. Officials say after a brief encounter with Tate, Riley requested emergency assistance. When other law enforcement officers reached the scene, they found Deputy Riley's body and his police cruiser gone.

(DEPUTY SEAN RILEY)

The Illinois case is apparently separate from the 14 charges filed in St. Charles, Missouri, where Tate fled after the Wayne County incident. Those charges include armed robbery and armed kidnapping. Tate came back to Illinois later that day and was apprehended after police defused a hostage situation near Carlyle. 

Tate remains in custody in Jefferson County.