Rockford man arrested months after stealing funeral home van with body inside
Deon Howard | Rockford police
ROCKFORD, Ill. - A Rockford man has been taken into custody months after he was charged with stealing a funeral home van with a body inside and driving it to Chicago.
Deon Howard, 23, has been charged with unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle and abuse of a corpse.
On Jan. 21, Howard allegedly stole the van which belonged to and was located outside of Collins & Stone Funeral Home located at 128 S. 5th St., in Rockford.
Inside the van was a deceased man, 47-year-old Curtis Brown.
The next day, the Chicago Police Department located the van in the 1400 block of East 87th Street.
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The day after the van was discovered, Chicago police notified Rockford authorities that Brown's body was found in the 8200 block of South Manistee Avenue.
Brown was brought back to Rockford by the Winnebago County Coroner's Office.
While investigating the incident, detectives identified Howard as the suspect, and he was charged in late January but was not in custody.
Police said Monday, Howard had been arrested in Green Bay, Wisconsin. No further information was immediately available.