MT. VERNON – The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office says the investigation into the death of 20-year-old Carrion Holmes of Mt. Vernon on Jan. 8 of this year has been completed.

Sheriff Jeff Bullard says the investigation involved a criminal investigation conducted by the Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigations, an administrative investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Jefferson County Coroner’s office and a final review of the facts by State’s Attorney Sean Featherstun.

The sheriff shared the report of the investigation in a video posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook page, which you can see at the bottom of this story.

The sheriff says after a deputy responded to a stolen vehicle report stuck in a ditch in the Richview Road area, the deputy saw Holmes in the roadway. The deputy tried to take Holmes into custody using verbal commands with his gun drawn, but Holmes didn’t comply and didn’t have anything in his hands.

The deputy then switched from his handgun to his taser and continued giving verbal commands to get Holmes to comply. Holmes tried to flee on foot going north and the deputy deployed his taser, which was ineffective, and Holmes continued to flee. The deputy briefly pursued Holmes and was able to tackle him bringing them both down onto the ice and snow covered ground in a ditch just off the roadway.

During the struggle, Holmes was able to get the deputy’s gun from its holster. Toward the end of the struggle, the deputy’s handgun still in Holmes’ possession, fired three times. The final round struck Holmes on the left side of his head while the muzzle was very close. The deputy went back to his vehicle to radio for backup and medical assistance. Backup arrived a short time later and the deputies attempted first aid to no avail.

The investigation showed that Holmes died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after resisting the deputy’s efforts to take him into custody and being disarmed while trying to do so. The investigation also found that the deputy’s actions during this terrible event were within the lawful scope of his employment and justified. The deputy has since returned to work and the sheriff is thankful he made it through this horrific event without being seriously harmed.

The sheriff says a body cam recorded the incident, but will not be released at the request of a family member on social media. ISP also has a copy of the recording, but has its own policies governing whether or not it will be published.