A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Tuesday for opening fire on a rival on Bloomington’s east side—a shooting that put several nearby vehicles and a store in the crossfire.
Darvell Williams, 30, was convicted in July on nine counts of attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm. His 40-year sentence includes a 20-year sentence plus a 20-year enhancement because the crime involved a firearm, prosecutors said. He’ll have to serve 85 percent of the sentence.
Prosecutors say Williams fired Nov. 26, 2016, at another person over a dispute over personal property. Bullets struck property in the line of fire, including vehicles travelling on East Empire Street and the Lowe’s home improvement store across the street. Despite multiple close calls, no one was struck by the gunfire.
“Beyond deterring other would-be criminals, a serious sentence is needed to show our community that our local system of justice takes gun violence seriously. I hope our community joins us in refusing to be a community who accepts gun violence as a norm,” Adam Ghrist, the McLean County first assistant state’s attorney assigned to handle the case, said in a statement Tuesday.
State’s Attorney Jason Chambers cited the defendant’s prior criminal record—including a robbery—and his “repeated rules violations” while in the McLean County jail in seeking the lengthier sentence. He also cited the crime itself demonstrates Williams’ “lack of concern for the safety of any other people.”
“I hope that sentences such as this one will be a reminder to those who have been impacted that we will take these cases to heart and aggressively pursue them,” Chambers said in a statement.
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