Two Jacksonville men were sentenced to prison yesterday for two separated, isolated shots fired incidents near a downtown tavern from earlier this year.
39-year old Benjamin L. Clinton of the 600 block of East Independence Avenue pleaded guilty yesterday to Class 4 felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in Morgan County Court.
Clinton was arrested on March 2nd after Jacksonville Police received a report in the early morning hours that day of shots being fired in front of the West Morgan Depot. Officers located Clinton a few blocks away along with the weapon and other evidence. No one was injured in the incident.
Clinton was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The reckless discharge citation was dropped per the plea.
Clinton was sentenced to 1 year in the Illinois Department of Corrections, up to 6 months of mandatory supervised release, fined $500 and ordered to pay court costs. He was given credit for 81 days served in the Morgan County Jail.
25-year old Nicholas A. Johnson of the 1000 block of North Church was arrested by Jacksonville Police on March 20th in the 800 block of West Morton Avenue after a month long investigation. Johnson was connected to a shots fired incident near the West Morgan Depot in a municipal parking lot where a crowd had gathered in the early morning hours of February 25th. No one was injured in the incident.
Johnson pleaded guilty yesterday in Morgan County Court to Class 4 felony reckless discharge of a firearm. He was sentenced to 1 year in the Illinois Department of Corrections, up to 6 months of mandatory supervised release, ordered to pay a $500 fine plus court costs. He was given credit for 63 days served in the Morgan County Jail.