Terry Misener worked with so-called “Honeybee Killer” Gary Amaya, the one-time caretaker at former Lake Tandem Lodge on East Pine Bluff Road.
“He seemed to be a little bit different, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought he’d done something like this,” the owner-operator of Misener Plumbing and Heating on Boulder Drive noted Tuesday.
“He was a little different, but I never saw this coming.”
Amaya, 48, most recently of Rankin, Ill., a tiny town north of Champaign, was shot and killed by a brave customer during an attempted robbery in a tanning salon in Orland Park late Saturday. Authorities said the ballistics on Amaya’s gun matched those on the weapon used in a shooting spree in October on the border between Illinois and Indiana.
Before opening fire in that incident, Amaya asked one victim about bees, rating him the nickname, Honeybee Killer.
Misener was called to Lake Tandem Lodge six to eight times a year for many years to repair and maintain the plumbing and heating fixtures. He worked closely with Amaya on the projects.
“He had opinions on the different jobs that he had. He wasn’t very happy with them. He had a different attitude toward people. As far as a caretaker is concerned, he seemed to do a pretty good job,” Misener said.
“He was involved in ham radio. He lived by himself. He had guns, but he lived in a rural area and was involved in hunting and the like. I don’t believe he ever had a girlfriend. He never spoke of one.”
Misener remembers Amaya from the late 1980s and more in the 1990s, maybe even the early 2000s, he said Tuesday. He said Amaya lived alone, but did have a couple hunting buddies.
“I think he originally was from this area,” Misener said. “I think his parents were originally at Lake Tandem, and that’s how he got involved out there as caretaker.”
Being in business, Misener said he met very many people. He happens to remember Amaya because he was a different kind of character, however.
“He lived in a real junky old trailer on the property,” Misener noted. “Most of his possessions were not expensive, by any means. He drove an old truck. He did take a job at the new railyard at Elwood before moving to Rankin.”
Misener said Amaya’s mother was living in Rankin at the time. After she died, he moved into the home.
“I never would have dreamed he’d die like this,” Misener said. “You know somebody, and even if they’re a little odd, you don’t think of something like this. I kind of found it strange he lived in Rankin, and the things he did were way up north.”
Misener learned of the Orland Park robbery in a radio broadcast. He thought the name sounded familiar. He switched on the TV and found a head-and-shoulders photo of Amaya. He said he recognized the man right away from having worked with him so many times in the past.
“I knew him very well. There’s not many named Gary Amaya. It’s a pretty unusual name. I knew he had moved down south, and I wondered if it was the same guy who was walking around out there,” Misener said.
“As soon as I saw his picture, there was no question it was him. I couldn’t believe it.”
Records show Amaya had a couple brushes with the law while living in Grundy County, mostly all of a minor nature like speeding tickets.
A search of the records by Grundy County Sheriff Terry Marketti show Amaya was given a verbal warning during a traffic stop in 1988, and a couple speeding tickets in 1990 and 1993.
Amaya was the plaintiff in three criminal trespass to land complaints. In 1998, he gave the department information about a mailbox that had been knocked down at the lodge.
The last contact the sheriff’s department has occurred in 2002. Marketti said the Coal City Fire Department called with a request to check on Amaya’s well being, as their personnel had not seen him for some time.
On Aug. 7, 1990, Amaya was fined after pleading guilty to driving 16 to 20 miles above the posted speed limit. On May 19, 1993, he again was fined on a guilty plea for traveling 21 to 25 miles above the speed limit.
On Sept. 13, 1995, a case brought against him by Sears, Roebuck and Company was dismissed without prejudice.
Illinois Department of Conservation Officer Mark Sinmon arrested Amaya on Jan. 24, 1998, on several hunting violations. Amaya’s address at the time of the arrest was 7750 East Pine Bluff Road, the record shows.
On Feb. 18 of that year, Amaya was fined after pleading guilty to unlawful use of lead shot; having an unplugged shotgun with over three shots, a Class B misdemeanor; and no valid hunting license or stamp.
At the same time, a charge of possession of a license/stamp/permit was nolle prossed, or dismissed, by the court. Lastly, Amaya pleaded guilty and was fined on two other unidentified charges in the same incident.