Peoria man's 15-year sentence reduced by Appellate Court
The 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield kept the conviction in place but did cut some time off his 15-year sentence, according to a 20-page order released on May 27.
The order, written by Judge David Vancil with Judges Thomas Harris and James Knecht concurring, left in place convictions for reckless discharge of a firearm and for being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with a chain of events that occurred on Oct. 28, 2023, that led to a man's death.
Man sentenced in connection to deadly Peoria traffic collision
The judges found now-retired Peoria County Circuit Judge Paul Gilfillan improperly allowed Demetrius Drummond to be sentenced for an extended term on reckless discharge charge.
At the time, it appeared the judge as well as the attorneys thought he was eligible for an extended term of six years instead of the typical three years because of his past record.
But because the course of conduct that night — shooting a gun in the air — was similar in both cases, the appellate judges found it wasn't appropriate to give him an extended term so they reduced his time on that count to three years.
'The State agrees that defendant's possession of a firearm and reckless discharge of that firearm were related, and there was no change in his criminal objective. Therefore, the State concedes that defendant's conviction for reckless discharge was not eligible for extended-term sentencing. The State also concedes that the unauthorized sentence was plain error,' the judges wrote.
The judges left in place the 9-year prison term for the possession charge.
According to Peoria police, officers responded to the area after an alert from the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system indicated nine rounds had been fired around 12:41 a.m., Oct. 28, 2023.
People had gathered at a house party on Thrush Street that night. And some point, a man — later determined to be Drummond — fired a gun in the air.
'. . . people began to flee. One person, later identified as Kobe Johnson, appeared to crouch down in front of a parked car. Someone else got into the car and drove away, driving over Johnson and leaving him lying in the middle of Thrush Street,' the order stated.
Man arrested in connection with deadly Peoria traffic collision
When they arrived, officers found an injured man on the road. That man was 24-year-old Kobe Johnson of Peoria who suffered multiple blunt-force trauma and crush injuries after being hit by the car and likely died instantly, according to the Peoria County Coroner's Office.
Using witnesses' statements and cell phone records, prosecutors were able to convince a jury that it was Drummond who was the shooter. Drummond at the August 2024, trial opted to represent himself after his public defender said he wasn't ready to go to trial with only six weeks to review the evidence.
With the court's ruling and the fact that Drummond is eligible for day for day 'good-time' credit, he could be released in a bit less than five years.
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