BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A state judicial board has filed a complaint accusing a judge in southwestern Illinois of lying to investigators when they questioned him about a suspect in a murder who had been his roommate.

The Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board complaint submitted this week with the Courts Commission could potentially lead to Judge Ronald Duebbert’s removal from the bench. A message left Friday for Duebbert’s attorney, Dan Fultz, wasn’t returned.

The complaint accuses the 55-year-old St. Clair County circuit judge of lying about returning a cellphone to the 20-year-old suspect, David E. Fields, and about communicating with Fields just before the fatal shooting. Fields, of East St. Louis, is charged in the slaying of 28-year-old Carl Silas on Dec. 30, 2016.

Duebbert is restricted to administrative duties because of various pending complaints.