Latest news with #SkylarJordan
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Teenager indicted on racketeering charges related to violent Peoria street gang
A 17-year-old boy will be tried as an adult on racketeering charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a violent street gang tied to a series of crimes over the past two years. Skylar Jordan was indicted Tuesday on charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act – better known as RICO – due to his alleged connections to the "Snakes," a street gang charged with setting off a series of violent crimes that led to three separate homicides and 12 shootings across the Peoria area over the past three years. More: Chilling court details show 'terror' linked to violent Peoria street gang According to the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office, Jordan was one of six juveniles to be charged with RICO in October following an investigation into the gang's alleged actions. Petitions had been filed to transfer their cases to adult court, with a Peoria County Circuit judge approving Jordan's transfer earlier this month. Prosecutors claim that Jordan and other members of the gang were involved in the deaths of people such as MikeQuese Taylor, a former Peoria High School basketball player killed in April 2024 while washing a car in his driveway in the 100 block of East Forrest Hill Avenue; Antonio Walker, who died one month after an August 2023 shooting in which multiple people fired at people riding bikes, a group that included Walker; and James Irby, killed in the 1800 block of South Stanley Street one month later. In addition, they are also connected to a post-prom shooting from May 2024 in Chillicothe, where 18-year-old Devon Mackey was hospitalized after being hit multiple times. Taylor and Mackey were supposedly members of a rival gang known as the "Jump-Out Boys", who were feuding with the "Snakes" during the crime spree. The Peoria Police Department and Peoria County Sheriff's Office were able to recover 18 guns over the course of their investigation, with four of those guns equipped with a switch that can convert them into a semi-automatic weapon. Jordan was also indicted on charges of unlawful use of a weapon Tuesday in relation to the gang activity. Arraignment is set for May 29 at 9:30 a.m., with Circuit Judge Katherine Gorman presiding over the proceedings. More: 'Special kid': Slain former Peoria High basketball player remembered as hard working, supportive This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Teenager to be tried as an adult on racketeering charges tied to gang
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
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.
