PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A 16-year-old will be held at the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center pending the resolution of a case where he’s accused of shooting another person.
Judge Frank Ierulli sided with prosecutors and agreed that Janard Quin should be held in custody pending the outcome of his case. The judge noted that Quin committed a crime of violence, that there wasn’t much dispute on what happened — that Quin shot the victim — and that Quin’s behavior of discharging a firearm poses a real and present threat to the safety of the community.
“He shot at another youth in an urban part of town in a high-traffic area,” the judge said.
Quinn was charged with aggravated battery. He will next appear in court on April 24.
Officers were called to the 1300 block of North Sheridan Road at about 2 p.m. after an alert from the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system indicated three rounds had been fired Sunday Afternoon. When they arrived, they found a victim, also 16, a block away in the 1400 block of Sheridan.
Assistant State’s Attorney Aaron Mobley said the victim, 16, and Quin were friends and went to high school together. They had been at Quin’s house earlier and were kicked out for smoking weed by Quin’s mother. They were walking to Peoria High School for an open gym when a surveillance camera captured Quin raising his arm while holding a shiny object, the prosecutor said in open court.
The victim said he and Quin had some issues in the past but that he believed they were over. Quin, when questioned by the police, admitted that a .45-caliber gun found in his house was the one used in the shooting.
He said he believed the victim was acting strangely and had something in his book bag and was nervous. Therefore, he told police he shot the victim, Mobley said in open court.
The victim was shot in the chest and taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. While investigating, officers learned of the suspect teen who was in the area of Elizabeth and Sheridan Road. When that teen saw the police come, he took off but was quickly caught.
State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos said on Monday that his case, given the nature of the charges, was an automatic transfer from the juvenile division to the adult division of Peoria County Circuit Court.
Many such requests are not automatic under state law. Rather, the judge must consider several factors before making a decision. Among those factors are one’s childhood, what services he might have already received from juvenile probation officers as a way to rehabilitate himself, and the actual nature of the crime itself.
Had he stayed in the juvenile system, Quinn’s case would have been sealed to the general public, and any imprisonment would have stopped at his 21st birthday.
Now, he faces at least six years and possibly up to 30 years behind bars.
