By Editor,Sophie Gable

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Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was seen posing with a man who worked as a ‘Peacekeeper’ in the state, less than a week before he was arrested for allegedly killing a father while fleeing a robbery at a Louis Vuitton store.

Keller McMillan, 35, was one of seven men charged with murder, burglary, and retail theft after they robbed a luxury retail store and allegedly killed a father who was driving to work.

It has now been revealed that McMillan was working as a ‘Peacekeeper,’ a trained community member who is sent to violent hotspots to de-escalate conflicts.

Pritzker met with the Peacekeepers at the start of the month, sharing photos in a press release from the event, including one with McMillan.

The photo was removed after McMillian’s arrest, but had already been circulated on multiple media websites.

Pritzker shared a video on his social media from the event, where he sat at a roundtable and listened to the Peacekeepers describe their experience in the program.

The governor noted that the Peacekeepers create a safer community and wrote in the caption, ‘It’s folks like these that we need more of doing the hard work of community violence prevention, not troops on the ground to undermine efforts fighting crime’.

‘The Governor meets hundreds of people in communities every week and is often asked to take photos,’ Pritzker’s office said in a statement.

‘We were extremely troubled to learn that this individual was arrested for his alleged involvement in this serious crime, and we expect them to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

‘The Governor will keep doing everything in his power to fight crime, keep our neighborhoods safe, and support community violence intervention, which have been proven to work’.

The Chicago Police Department charged McMillan as a fugitive of justice for three out-of-state warrants and one in-state warrant.

Former Police Chief Tom Weitzel slammed the governor’s office as ‘incompetent,’ telling CWBChicago, ‘I know that some people approach politicians and ask to take a picture, but if the photo is posed, it reveals an absolute lack of due diligence on the part of the governor’s team, in my opinion’.

It’s unclear how McMillan was able to work as a Peacekeeper while he had outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Daily Mail reached out to the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research and Science at Northwestern University, which runs the program, for comment.

The program fosters relationships between Peacekeepers and members of the community to mitigate violence.

The governor’s office said that Community Violence Intervention programs decreased shootings in 41 percent of program areas.

Despite the progress, CVI programs have drawn criticism, with Weitzel calling it a ‘feel-good’ operation with participants who have convictions for violent felonies.

CPD didn’t release what McMillan’s out-of-state warrants were for, but arrest records indicate that he was previously charged with domestic battery/bodily harm, street gang contact, and gang loitering.

His rap sheet dates back to 2014. McMillan was charged as a fugitive of justice in 2019 and 2022 and was issued a warrant for his arrest last October.

Burglary and murder charges

In his most recent offense, McMillan was charged with murder, theft between $500,000 and $1 million, and burglary.

Keith Perkins, 19, Anthony Hemphill, 22, Harvey Fisher, 26, Alton Jackson, 37, Dejuan Wingard, 30, and Darius Bowdry, 30, were also charged in connection with the Louis Vuitton store robbery.

They allegedly pulled up to the store in six stolen vehicles and used a pickup truck to smash through a window to gain entry, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

A video from the scene revealed the black truck crashing into a window while multiple men rushed in and out of the store to the stolen vehicles parked in front.

Wingard then allegedly collided with another vehicle while driving 77 miles per hour and passing through red lights after fleeing the scene.

The crash killed 40-year-old father, Mark Arceta, who was driving to his last day of work before going on paternity leave.

His girlfriend, Roanne Masangkay, told Fox News that she gave birth to their baby boy just one day after Arceta died.

‘I want my son to know his dad was so loved. He gave me everything I wanted. He was selfless, generous, and never turned his back on people who needed help,’ she told the outlet.

A GoFundMe was set up for the family, and the description said Arceta was a father to a 16-month-old baby and a step-father to a 10-year-old before he died.