Suspect in custody for fatal shooting of Momence bar owner Courtney Drysdale, authorities say

The suspect in the fatal shooting of a bar owner in Momence, Illinois, was taken into custody Tuesday.

His arrest comes a day after Courtney Drysdale, 30, was found shot and killed inside her bar, and just hours after Kankakee County sheriffs shared images of the suspect. 

The suspect, whom the Kanakee County Sheriff's Office identified as Julius E. Burkes Jr., 47, was taken into custody in the 6400 block of Rhode Island Avenue in Hammond, Indiana, as he was exiting his home.

Drysdale was shot and killed while opening up the bar she owned, The Line, located at 17969 Illinois 114 in a rural area outside Momence, right west of the Illinois-Indiana state line.

Around 11 a.m. Monday, Drysdale was opening the business and going about her normal routine when the suspect came in, brandished a gun, and demanded money from the cash register, according to Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey.

"Despite her cooperation, the suspect shot her twice, execution-style, before fleeing the scene," Downey said.

No one else was in the bar at the time, Downey said. Before leaving, the shooter tried to take a digital recording device from the wall, but investigators nevertheless recovered video evidence, Downey said.

"It's aggravating, upsetting, all those types of negative emotions because it's like, how could someone do this to someone who's literally so nice, so sweet," said Hailey Gershon.

Gershon, 25, who is Drysdale's best friend, has so many unanswered questions about her friend's death.

"Courtney was a really compassionate person. She cared very much about the people in her life. She was very family-oriented. I would say her daughter is her whole life," she said.

She said that Drysdale took over the bar four years ago. The news of her death, she said, has impacted the surrounding owners in the area.

"She's been a bartender in that area for quite a while. The line as customers and bartenders and barbacks, we're all a big family," Gershon said.

Downey said Drysdale was deeply loved — not only by her daughter and the rest of the family, but also by her bar patrons and friends.  

Before the arrest, the Kankakee County Sheriff's Office released images of the suspect and a car that was believed to be associated with the case — a white four-door BMW sedan with a sunroof and distinctive dark rails, Downey said.

At the time of the incident, the suspect had eyeglasses and facial hair, Downey said. 

Surveillance images showed him wearing a high-vis safety jacket and holding a clipboard. It was unclear why he wore the jacket and carried the clipboard. He was also seen leaving the scene with a gun. 

Burke's arrest comes 26 hours after the fatal shooting of Drysdale. News of the arrest came as a sigh of relief to Gershon.

"He's finally is going to get what he deserves for doing something so heartless to someone who has a huge heart," she said.

The sheriff's office said that he is being held in Indiana, where he is awaiting extradition to Illinois.