URBANA, Ill. (AP) — Two people have pleaded guilty in a September beating near the University of Illinois campus that authorities believe led to the shootings of four people.
According to The News-Gazette in Champaign, 18-year-old Cedric Cooper of Champaign pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated battery in the Sept. 25 beating of Edwin McCraney. A 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty to the same count Monday.
Cooper and the boy are scheduled to be sentenced at later dates. They are among seven people arrested in the beating.
Police have said a friend of McCraney sought revenge for the beating, which happened outside a party near campus. Four bystanders were shot. One, 22-year-old George Korchev of Mundelein, died.
Eighteen-year-old Robbie Patton of Champaign has been charged with murder. He has not entered a plea.
