©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| FIRST ON WGIL: Sheley Found Guilty in Jailhouse Assault Trial |
FIRST REPORTED 3:49pm, UPDATED 4:40pm 9/23/09 A Knox County jury has found accused spree killer Nicholas Sheley guilty of committing an assault on employees of the Knox County Jail several months ago.
A seven-woman, five-man jury found the 30-year old Sterling man guilty of three-counts of Aggravated Battery, one-count of Aggravated Assault, and one-count of Criminal Damage to Government-Supported Property, following four-hours of deliberations Wednesday, that started after Sheley opted not to testify in his own defense, causing the defense to present no evidence.
Knox County Assistant State's Attorney Matthew Kwacala was the lead prosecutor, and tells WGIL the jury did the right thing.
"I felt we had a strong case," Kwacala said. "I think our witnesses were credible, and we had good evidence."
Knox County Public Defender Jim Harrell, whom Sheley made clear outside of the jury's presence he wasn't pleased with, tells WGIL he still believes the jury took their work seriously. "I think the jury took a lot of time in considering what was before them," Harrell said. "That tells me they listened to all the evidence, went through it closely. Obviously, if the jury takes that long (to deliberate), a significant period of time, it's something we may want to look about doing a motion for a new trial or an appeal on."
Sheley allegedly tore apart a metal chair, throwing its legs at deputies who had entered his jail pod April 17th, after guards noticed the security camera and a window there had been covered up. Sheley also is accused of punching another deputy.
Sheley had choice words for Harrell throughout the proceedings, saying at one point, "No private attorney would represent me like you did," among other things.
Circuit Judge Stephen Mathers has set sentencing for October 30th. Sheley will be back in court next week for a hearing on a motion to dismiss the murder charges filed against him locally for the death of 65-year old Ronald Randall last year, part of a suspected two-state killing spree.
(Nicholas Sheley leaves the Knox County Courthouse Wednesday afternoon after being found guilty. WGIL News Story by Will Stevenson. Photos by Dominic Fortini.) |
|
| 09 24 09 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
