PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A Peoria teen was caught on video surveillance footage shooting a Havana man in the parking lot of a Peoria County liquor store.
That’s the information from Assistant State’s Attorney Terry Muench who told a Peoria County judge what happened last weekend in the parking lot of Laramie Liquors, which sits just outside the city limits of Peoria.
Killed was Mason Loy, 21 of Havana. Jared R. Williams faces a single count first-degree murder in connection with shooting Loy who was found in the parking lot of Laramie Liquors shortly after 9 p.m.
The charge alleges he fired a gunshot in the direction of Loy and killed him.
Little information regarding what happened or why came out in court. Muench said in open court that deputies with the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office were called to the store at about 9 p.m. Saturday on a report of a man being shot.
When they arrived, they found Loy lying in the parking lot in a pool of blood, having been shot several time. A review of the store’s security cameras showed Loy going into the store and then a dark SUV pull up.
A person got out of the vehicle and then Loy walked out. Williams allegedly got out of the vehicle, pointed a gun at Loy and opened fire.
Loy, the prosecutor said, tried to flee but collapsed after being shot.
His death was the county’s third homicide of the year. Initially, no arrests were made but late Monday, detectives with the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office arrested Williams at an apartment building located in the 100 block of West Willow Street in Normal.
Armed with a search warrant, deputies found Williams and a handgun. The gun, Muench said, appeared to be the one that fired shell casings found in the liquor store’s parking lot.
Williams’ age and the first-degree murder charge made his case an automatic transfer from the juvenile division of Peoria County Circuit Court to the adult division. Normally, 17-year-olds are prosecuted as juveniles and the records are sealed to the public, but homicide cases can be an exception.
The teen is being held at the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center despite being charged as an adult due to his age.
Williams said little during the hearing. He appeared via video-conferencing form the JDC’s library. He sat in the library, wearing a blue shirt and answered questions with only a yes or a no.
Judge Sean Donahue set his bond at $1.5 million, noting the charge and that Williams was on juvenile probation for methamphetamine possession.
Williams faces a maximum of 40 years behind bars instead of a maximum of 60 years due to rulings by the Illinois Supreme Court in the past that capped what a juvenile can face. However, if a judge finds he’s beyond rehabilitation, he could receive up to 60 years if he’s convicted.
The case is scheduled for a Sept. 28 preliminary hearing though it is likely a grand jury will hear the case before then.
