Peoria man gets 7-year sentence for June 2024 shooting
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A Peoria man was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for a June 2024 incident where two cars were struck by gunfire.
Christopher Polnitz Cleary, 20, was sentenced in Peoria County Circuit Court by Chief Judge Katherine Gorman. The sentence was in near the lower end of the four-to-15-year year prison term.
Polnitz-Clary was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with the June 7, 2024, incident that occurred near the intersection of East Frye and North Indiana avenues.
More than 60 shell casings were found on the scene, according to Peoria police. Two days later, officers were sent to the intersection of Hanssler Place and Broadway Street for another report of shots fired. When they arrived, a home and a car were struck by gunfire.
During an investigation of the second shooting, detectives found that a blue Dodge Caliber was the vehicle used in the shootings.
Two Peoria men indicted for June shooting leaving more than 60 shell casings behind
In April, Cleary pleaded guilty and under state law, he must serve at least 85% of his sentence.
During the sentencing hearing Wednesday, Assistant State's Attorney Brian FitzSimons told Gorman that the shooting happened in the middle of the day and while people were around. It's sheer luck, he said, that no one was hurt.
Gorman noted that while Polnitz-Clary had taken steps to improve himself while in custody, his actions could not be overlooked.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
East Nashville residents frustrated by recent car burglaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Neighbors in East Nashville said they're sick of petty crime in their community. In the last four weeks, there have been more than 80 reports of vehicle break-ins or vehicle thefts in just one portion of East Nashville, according to 'We don't feel safe. We're frustrated,' Yoko Ono said. Within the last two weeks, Ono's car was broken into twice, with the suspects breaking the same window. Parent says crosswalk at East Nashville elementary school is becoming dangerous Neighbors caught the apparent suspects on camera and agreed they looked like young adults or teenagers. 'From 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., it's their witching hour where they get to go out and get crazy because I guess there's nothing better to do in this area,' Victoria Ochoa said. According to Ochoa, community members start to see a spike in crimes like this after schools get out. 'I've lived here almost three years now. We do see an uptick during Christmas, during spring break, during Thanksgiving holiday, and especially summer,' Ochoa said. Back in January, News 2 reported on dozens of car break-ins from East Nashville to Germantown. | READ MORE | In the last four weeks, there have been 81 reports of vehicle thefts or break-ins in and around Ochoa and Ono's neighborhood. Ono said it's not only an inconvenience to get her car fixed, but it's also a cost burden: 'Filing for the insurance claim and then probably my rate will go up. I'm trying to pay off debt, I'm trying to go to Japan to see family, and it's just been really hard to make those goals happen.' Now Ochoa and Ono have home surveillance cameras set up, so they're constantly watching the video feed. 'I got cameras literally that day…I got them delivered same day; we put them in that night. I said, 'This isn't happening again,'' Ochoa said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Panama City Beach man arrested for attempt to solicit a teenager for sex
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – A Panama City Beach man is in the Bay County jail, accused of trying to solicit a teenager for sex. Authorities say 26-year-old Amani Shackur Lawrence contacted what he thought was a 15-year-old girl on a dating site called 'Skip the Games.' Investigators say they chatted about meeting to commit certain sex acts. Crestview substitute teacher charged with lewd and lascivious battery involving a minor However, what Lawrence didn't know was that the person who was allegedly chatting with him was an undercover police officer. Authorities were waiting when Lawrence arrived at the pre-arranged destination. Lawrence is charged with use of an electronic device to seduce a child, traveling to meet a child for sex, and use of a two-way device to commit a felony. He is being held on an $80,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Former Stewartville home park community operator agrees to pay $135,000 in settlement
Jun. 12—ST. PAUL — The former owner and operator of a manufactured home park community in Stewartville agreed to pay $135,000 after facing allegations that it submitted false claims to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. The state alleged that Sun Communities, Inc. violated three counts of the Minnesota False Claims Act, an act that works to combat fraud against the government. The civil complaint, filed in March 2024, alleged that Sun Communities attempted to evict several tenants for not paying their rent. However, in these instances, Sun Communities received the tenants' payments through RentHelpMN, a federally funded program created after COVID-19 that provides financial support to help Minnesota families pay rent. According to the complaint, Sun Communities "repeatedly affirmed" that it would not evict tenants for not paying rent after receiving their rent payments through the program. RentHelpMN required landlords like Sun Communities to comply with the "statutory and regulatory prohibition on evicting tenants." The state alleged that Sun Communities applied RentHelpMN to pay for "unlawful late fees, pet fees" and other unauthorized fees. Hennepin County District Judge Susan Burke ordered that $33,824.09 of the $135,000 be paid as restitution, which will be credited to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. "What Sun Communities did was unlawful," Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a release. "The pandemic created economic hardship, so the government stepped up and helped struggling families make rent payments. It is disappointing that any property owner would accept those payments and then still try to evict their tenants. Today, we are holding one of those property owners accountable. I am grateful to the whistleblower who helped bring this wrongdoing to light, and I encourage other Minnesotans who believe government funds are being misused to contact my office." Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, who represented Sun Communities, did not immediately respond for comment. Sun Communities, Inc. previously owned and operated the community located at 105 20 St. NW, Stewartville.
