On July 16, 1983, at approximately 3:25 a.m., Auxiliary Deputy Steven W. Mayer, a 22-year-old white male, was fatally shot in an ambush attack in Homer Township, Will County, Illinois. Deputy Mayer and Auxiliary Sergeant Denis Foley, 50, responded to what appeared to be a stranded motorist on 143rd Street between Gauger Road and State Street. As they approached a pickup truck partially obstructing the road, the driver claimed he needed a jump start.
When the officers exited their vehicle, the man opened fire, shooting both deputies. Deputy Mayer died shortly after being shot, while Sergeant Foley sustained critical injuries.
Following the initial attack, the assailant targeted a passing vehicle, killing the driver and wounding the passenger. The deputies' firearms and wallets were stolen, and Deputy Mayer's body was dragged into a ditch. Sergeant Foley, despite severe injuries, managed to radio for help, but his location was unclear. A nearby farmer heard the siren and assisted authorities in locating the scene. Sergeant Foley succumbed to his injuries a month later.
The investigation linked the ambush to a series of violent crimes in the area. On July 17, 1983, 18-year-old Anthony Hackett was murdered, and his fiancée was assaulted. On August 20, 1983, four women were killed in a ceramic shop in Joliet. Milton Johnson, a 33-year-old man recently paroled for a 1973 rape, was arrested in March 1984. He was convicted of multiple murders, including those of Hackett and the four women, and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment. Johnson was never charged in the ambush that killed Deputy Mayer and Sergeant Foley but remains the primary suspect.
Deputy Mayer had served with the Will County Sheriff's Office for one year. He was survived by his wife of two weeks, his father his mother, and his siblings.
