David E. Fields, 20, was charged on Tuesday with the first degree murder of Carl Z. Silas, 28, which occurred at a Belleville apartment on Dec. 30.
Fields has been jailed since Friday on a parole violation. He was released from prison on Oct. 24 after having pleaded guilty in August 2015 to the aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, a crime which occurred in September 2013.
Upon his release from prison, Fields lived with Ron Duebbert, who at the time was running for a circuit court seat in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in St. Clair County. Fields lived with Duebbert at his home on Powdermill Road in Belleville until Dec. 2, three days before Duebbert was sworn in following his win in November's general election.
Before Fields was charged on Tuesday, Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson re-assigned Duebbert to administrative duties due to his connection to Fields.
Gleeson wrote in his order that he took Duebbert off his judicial assignment because it was a matter of public record that he allegedly harbored a registered violent offender who was then a "person of interest" in a murder investigation.
St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson is scheduled to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. today.
Duebbert, a Republican, was elected in November, having defeated Democrat John Baricevic, former chief judge, in a bruising campaign.
"An issue has arisen that leads the Court to act with caution and deliberation," Gleeson wrote in the re-assignment order.
Gleeson indicated it would be effective until issues "are understood and resolved to the Court's satisfaction."
"The Court is acting thusly to ensure the safety of the general public, its right to a fair and impartial jurist, and to protect the integrity of the Court," the order states.
Duebbert has been contacted for comment, but has not returned a phone call.
A Facebook page identified as "War Head," which appears to be owned by Fields, has three videos posted on May 19, 2015 showing Duebbert and Fields together. On that date, three months before he pleaded guilty, the charge of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman was pending against Fields.
In two of the videos, Fields, who appears to be recording the video with a hand held device, is shown as a passenger in a Porsche driven by Duebbert. A third video appears to show Fields and three other men in a residential parking lot in which it appears that Duebbert is inside a parked vehicle.