RICO charges filed in Peoria for alleged gang involvement
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A 17-year-old boy, already facing a charge of first-degree murder, was indicted Tuesday for allegedly violating the state's anti-racketeering laws.
Skylar Jordan, 17, was indicted on the RICO violation as well as in a separate case for a special type of unlawful use of weapons that alleges he had a machine gun. Both charges could send him to prison for decades.
He will be arraigned on those charges on May 29.
Central Peoria man may get decades for murder, RICO charges
He was also charged last fall with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 25, 2023, shooting death of James Irby. His age made the case an automatic transfer from the juvenile division of Peoria County Circuit Court to the adult division.
Last fall, State's Attorney Jodi Hoos filed the RICO counts against 10 people under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act which alleges they were affiliated with the 'Snakes' street gang, which prosecutors said is linked to a 'rash of violence that has plagued the area.'
At the time, six of the 10 were minors, and Hoos said she planned to ask a judge to transfer the case from the juvenile division to the adult division. Unlike the murder count, it was not an automatic transfer.
The case in the juvenile court system had been on hold pending a judge's decision on the transfer request, which was granted only recently.
RICO charges are normally seen in federal court and are products of federal investigations of organized crime. RICO counts often allege that people worked together to advance a criminal enterprise.
The Snakes are a street gang in Peoria. It appears the group is not linked to any one area within the city limits, based on records from prior incidents and arrests. Among the incidents they have been linked to are a 2024 shooting at a post-prom party in Chillicothe that left one person with a gunshot wound to the head.
Of the other nine people, all their cases are still pending.
In regard to the homicide, Peoria police were called to the 1800 block of South Stanley Street shortly after 10:15 p.m. Sept. 25, 2023, on a report of a shooting. There they found a 20-year-old man — Irby — who had been shot. He was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.
The deadly shooting was the city's 21st homicide of 2023 and part of a rash string of violence that has been attributed to the Snakes.
Jordan will appear back in court late next month on that case.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Choy sues Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for ‘retaliation,' seeks reinstatement
Isaac Choy, who remains on unpaid leave from the Hawai 'i Tourism Authority, has sued named and unnamed HTA officials alleging they retaliated against him for reporting what he called HTA procurement, spending and other violations. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Circuit Court by Choy—who was HTA's vice president of finance and acting chief administrative officer—represents the latest drama at HTA, which has the key responsibility for organizing state and private tourism entities and marketing Hawaii as a travel destination. HTA interim President and CEO Caroline Anderson, whom Choy names as a defendant in his lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HTA Chair Todd Apo declined to comment on the lawsuit. The Attorney General's office had not been served with Choy's lawsuit by the end of Friday and said it generally does not comment on pending litigation. Choy's lawsuit seeks penalties up to $5, 000 against Anderson and anyone else at HTA for each alleged violation of 'the Hawaii Whistleblowers Protection Act ' in what he calls retaliation for reporting violations. He also wants to be reinstated with back pay, in addition to payment of his attorneys' fees. Choy, Hawaii's former tax director, had worked at HTA since April 2023 and had responsibility for 'fiscal supervision of the funds appropriated to the HTA in a manner consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles standards, State budget fiscal requirements, and any regulatory requirement, ' among other duties. Beginning in March 2024, Choy said he began reporting HTA violations to state and HTA officials that continued into February. In one instance, according to the lawsuit, the state Procurement Office in January 2024 'confirmed that the then-program manager, Caroline Anderson, violated state procurement laws by failing to conduct a proper contract extension and then verbally extending the contract without going through the proper procurement process.' 'Mr. Choy reported his concerns about HTA's failure to timely and consistently comply with laws, rules, regulations and contracts to the State Legislative Auditor, the State Attorney General, and State legislators, who were conducting investigations or inquiry as part of their legislative duties, ' according to the lawsuit. After Choy alleged improper use of Hawai 'i Convention Center space by then-HTA CEO Mufi Hannemann, Choy's lawsuit said the Attorney General's office confirmed in writing that Choy mentioned Hawaii's whistleblower law in September 'as a protection against retaliation for himself and other HTA staff members.' Then allegations emerged that Choy had made racist and sexist remarks on the job, prompting the Attorney General's office and the Department of Human Resources on May 9 to direct that he be placed on unpaid leave. In his lawsuit, Choy said that Anderson on May 9 'delivered a letter to Mr. Choy, stating that Mr. Choy was being placed on administrative leave without pay, and was barred from coming to the HTA offices.' 'At Ms. Anderson's direction, Mr. Choy was immediately escorted from the HTA offices, on a 'perp walk' in front of all HTA employees as if Mr. Choy had been charged with a crime, in an attempt to humiliate Mr. Choy and intimidate other HTA staff members.' The reasons that Anderson cited in her May 9 letter for placing him on leave 'were false, misrepresented and /or grossly overstated, based on hearsay and unsubstantiated allegations, ' according to the lawsuit. 'The reasons stated in Ms. Anderson's May 9, 2025 letter were an obvious pretext, to silence Mr. Choy, and to retaliate against Mr. Choy for reporting numerous, serious violations of State laws, rules, regulations, and contracts, including the procurement violations by Ms. Anderson that Mr. Choy had reported. Placing Mr. Choy on leave without pay, without any legitimate basis under State law, was a transparent attempt by HTA and Ms. Anderson to harm Mr. Choy financially and unlawfully coerce him into resigning his position from HTA, to prevent him from providing additional details about the violations of State laws, rules, regulations, and contracts Mr. Choy had reported or was about to report.' On May 15, Choy sent a letter to Anderson, demanding that 'your retaliatory actions cease immediately and that my employment status be restored immediately.' In the letter, Choy told Anderson that 'Your false and reckless statements and retaliatory behavior have not only significantly damaged my reputation and income but also profoundly affected my family.' Choy served five terms in the House representing Manoa from 2008 through 2018.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Peoria teen ordered held in custody pending trial on racketeering charges
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — An alleged member of a notorious street gang was ordered held in custody Friday pending the outcome of his case. Kendal E. Patterson, 18, was indicted Tuesday for violating the state's anti-racketeering laws as well as aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, the latter charge alleged they possessed a loaded machine gun. He was initially scheduled to appear on Thursday, but his attorney asked for a delay of one day to prepare for the hearing, which is allowed under the state's SAFE-T Act. Two more alleged members of the 'Snakes' indicted for RICO violations Patterson is accused in connection with incidents on Feb. 24, 2023, in the 800 block of Gift Avenue, also in Peoria. His prosecution is part of an effort by the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office to combat street violence. Last fall, State's Attorney Jodi Hoos filed the RICO counts against 10 people under the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act which alleges they were affiliated with the 'Snakes' street gang, which prosecutors said is linked to a 'rash of violence that has plagued the area.' At the time, six of the 10 were minors, and Hoos said she planned to ask a judge to transfer the case from the juvenile division to the adult division. Patterson's case was moved to adult court late last month. Of the other nine people, all their cases are still pending. Patterson's trial is set for early July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
