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Jury Convicts Shooter In East-Side Gunfire Case

Courtesy
/
McLean County Sheriff's Office
Darvell Williams was convicted Wednesday.

A jury took about two hours Wednesday to convict a 30-year-old man of 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 was convicted on nine counts of attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm. The attempted murder count alone could lead to a sentence of between 26 and 50 years in prison.

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.

"I am pleased that the jury of McLean County citizens spoke loud and clear that senseless gun violence will not be tolerated in our community,” said McLean County First Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Ghrist. “It is only the grace of God that prevented this incident from becoming a tragedy.”

The trial was complicated because of resistance by some witnesses to testify, State’s Attorney Jason Chambers said in a statement. Prosecuting gun cases can be difficult, he said.

“This case had multiple hurdles, including several witnesses who did not want to cooperate and even had to be arrested in order to secure their attendance at trial. There were other witnesses who did come forward voluntarily and I commend them for their willingness to help make our community safer. We cannot efficiently and effectively prosecute these cases without their assistance,” Chambers said.

Williams will be sentenced Sept. 5.

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Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.