A rural Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to his role in a triple homicide that occurred in Springfield over three years ago.
35-year old Joseph W. Hembrough pleaded guilty to one count of first degree murder in front of Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadigan on Monday.
Hembrough along with 23-year old Kelton Galmore and 22-year old Larry McClain, Jr. are accused of breaking into a home n the 2500 block of South 10th Street in the Harvard Park neighborhood in Springfield in August 2021 and shooting and killing 27-year-old Bryant K. Williams of Houston, Texas and formerly of Springfield; 27-year-old Savante English of Springfield, and 25-year-old Keyera Gant of Springfield. Their bodies were found by a friend who came to the house on August 9, 2021.
At the time, Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon told the SJ-R it was “one of the most horrific scenes” he had ever witnessed in his career.
McClain, Hembrough, and Galmore were each charged with 9 counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, armed violence, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Additionally, McClain and Galmore have been charged with possession of a firearm by a Street Gang Member. McClain and Hembrough have each been charged with obstruction of justice. Hembrough was additionally charged with manufacture and/or delivery of a controlled substance.
Hembrough’s plea comes on the eve of a scheduled murder trial for the two other defendants. According to the State Journal Register, Hembrough is scheduled to testify at the jury trial which begins this coming Monday.
Hembrough was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and a three-year mandatory supervised release term, fined $500 dollars, and given credit for 931 days served at the Sangamon County Jail. Hembrough will have to serve 100% of his prison sentence due to a firearm being used in the commission of the crime according to Illinois’ Truth In Sentencing laws.