Relative: Suspect in deputy's shooting death 'not a monster'

This undated booking photo released by Illinois Department of Corrections shows Floyd E. Brown. Illinois State Police say Brown, 39, suspected of shooting a sheriff's deputy and a woman Thursday, March 7, 2019 at an Illinois hotel crashed his vehicle along an interstate highway while trying to flee police. (Illinois Department of Corrections via AP)

The half-sister of an Illinois man accused of fatally shooting a sheriff's deputy says he is "not a monster."

Christina Brown spoke after a hearing Monday for her half-brother, 39-year-old Floyd E. Brown. He's charged with first-degree murder in the Thursday death of McHenry County Sheriff's Deputy Jacob Keltner.

Investigators say Keltner was shot while trying to serve an arrest warrant at a hotel in Rockford, and that Floyd Brown fled in a vehicle that crashed along an interstate about 170 miles (273.6 kilometers) away.

Christina Brown says she'll be with her half-brother "every step of the way." She also offered Keltner's family sympathies, saying: "My heart honestly, truly goes out to all of them."

She says she's scared to think her half-brother, who didn't enter a plea Monday, faces a potential death penalty.