A Bloomington man has been sentenced to decades in prison for the 2023 murder of 31-year-old Jamere Bew, according to a media release from the McLean County state’s attorney.
Derek Siebring — one of three people charged with the murder — was 18 when the crime took place in November 2023. He pleaded guilty Friday in McLean County court to first-degree murder and aggravated battery, for which he is now required to serve 100% of a 65-year sentence and 50% of a three-year sentence, respectively.
Bew, of Bloomington, was shot and left in a ditch near Funks Grove before being found Nov. 25, 2023. Siebring admitted to beating Bew and shooting him at the murder site, according to the state’s attorney.
Siebring was initially charged Nov. 27, 2023. His aggravated battery sentence resulted from an incident that occurred while he awaited trial and was held in the McLean County jail, the state’s attorney's office said. Video surveillance shows Siebring threw an object that hit a correctional officer.
Two aggravated battery counts also were filed against Siebring, but were dismissed as part of his plea, the state’s attorney said.
Bew was a father who worked at Rivian and was an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan, according to his obituary.
"While nothing we do in the courtroom will ease the pain of the loss felt by the victim's family and friends, we hope that this disposition is one step closer for those impacted in finding peace," the state's attorney's office said in Friday's statement.
Cases against the other two defendants in the crime, Justin Kletz and Gabrielle Stine, are pending.
