Peoria man, 19, gets 40 years for deadly shooting in Peoria's North Valley
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A 19-year-old Peoria man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday for gunning down another man near the now-demolished Taft Homes nearly three years ago.
Lamarion Wright apologized to Peoria County Circuit Judge Steve Kouri for 'everything that I have done' especially for the Sept. 20, 2022 shooting of Christopher L. Tillman at the now-demolished Taft Homes.
In November, Wright pleaded guilty to murder in return for a cap on any prison term at 50 years. Normally, murder has a 60-year maximum and if a gun is used, then it could be decades more.
Wright had asked to take back his guilty plea, saying he believed he was told by his former attorney that he could out of prison when he was 20. That's not the case under the terms of the deal.
In reality, that was the minimum possible sentence he could have received. He could be eligible for parole in 20 years as he was 16 at the time of the shooting.
After a 30 minutes of legal tussling by the two sides, Kouri denied Wright's motion to get out of his plea and proceeded with the sentencing hearing.
Wright was identified as a suspect fairly early in the case due to the clothing he wore the night of the shooting. Surveillance cameras from a nearby construction site caught the incident.
Tillman, who was in a white shirt, was seen arguing with another person, a man dressed in a black sweatshirt with a stuffed animal around his waist. Tillman started to run off and the other person, Wright, was seen on the video shooting at him.
Prosecutor David Gast pushed for a maximum 50 years under the cap, saying that Wright 'Brutally murdered a man as he was running away from him.'
Also, the prosecutor said, Wright had trouble both at the juvenile detention center and later at the jail. Gast called him a bully, a vandal, insubordinate and violent. He noted that a shank was found between the pages of his Bible at the jail.
But defense attorney Bryan J McIntyre pushed for a sentence nearer to the minimum, noting that his client was a teen and that anyone who has been a parent would know that teens make bad decisions and choices.
A sentence near the minimum would still be enough to punish his client and yet, not being overly excessive.
An appeal is likely.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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