Files was born in Alabama, moved with his family to California shortly thereafter, then to an Italian neighborhood in Chicago. On May 7, 1991, Files and his friend, David Morley, were involved in a roadside shootout in
Round Lake Beach, Illinois, with two police officers, Detective David Ostertag and his partner, Gary Bitler. Ostertag and Bitler tried to apprehend the two for driving a stolen vehicle. Morley shot Ostertag in the chest. Files and Morley shot at Detective Bitler, but missed. Files and Morley fled on foot and were arrested a few hours later. Files was charged with two counts of
attempted murder and one count each of discharge of a firearm, aggravated battery with a firearm and armed violence. In August 1991, a jury found Files guilty of two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to 30 years for the shooting of Detective Ostertag and 20 years for attempting to shoot Detective Bitler. Files was imprisoned at
Stateville Correctional Center in
Crest Hill, Illinois, before being transferred to Danville Correctional Center in
Danville, Illinois. He was paroled in May 2016. On August 17, 1992, West interviewed Files at Stateville Correctional Center. After West's death in 1993, his family requested that his friend, Houston television producer Bob Vernon, take over the records concerning the story. ==Critical analysis==