By Tony Reid
Herald & Review, Decatur, Ill.
]DECATUR, Ill. — Joseph Luckee Williams, who tried to shoot to death a Decatur cop while armed with a submachine gun, was sentenced to 80 years in prison Thursday.
The 24-year-old defendant kept claiming up to the moment of his sentencing that he was innocent and showed no remorse. He even yawned out loud in the courtroom as the emotionally traumatized officer, Stephanie Vail, read a victim impact statement that said her brush with death had upended her life.
She said she could have been killed if Williams’ modified handgun hadn’t jammed after firing one shot in the early hours of January 8, 2022. The bullet had hit a metal fence and disintegrated, showering Vail’s head and face with bloody shrapnel wounds.
Vail said she had been left suffering severe PTSD and battling an addiction to alcohol and certain medications.
“On January 8th, 2022, my life changed forever,” she said during the Macon County Circuit Court sentencing hearing.
“I don’t deserve to go through the things that I have gone through in the past year and a half due to this man,” added the officer, who described herself as a cop who loved her job but has not yet been well enough to return to duty. She said she suffers from daily nightmares.
“This man took everything away from me that I’ve known... Joseph Williams has taken away my purpose in life; therefore he deserves to spend the rest of his natural life in prison,” she said.
Assistant Macon County State’s Attorney Michael Baggett pleaded for a maximum sentence. He presented evidence that Williams had been involved in shooting two neighbors multiple times on the street where he lived but had avoided trial in 2021 when they refused to testify against him.
Macon County Jail corrections staff testified that he had repeatedly threatened to kill them and fought with other inmates.
Baggett said Williams was a heartless thug who had to be behind bars for the protection of society.
“The defendant has no remorse, as evidenced by his demonstrable yawn during the victim impact statement here today,” he added.
“Before the court is a remorseless, violent and dangerous wannabe cop killer... this is a person who deserves no leniency or mercy; he has offered none to his victim. He is a threat to this community.”
Williams had told Judge Jeffrey Geisler that he can’t be sorry for something he didn’t do: “I am innocent; I didn’t shoot nobody. Never even shot a gun a day in my life... I am not the bad guy. How can I show remorse for something I didn’t do?” he said.
Williams, 24, had defended himself throughout the legal process that saw him convicted of attempted murder in a three-day trial that ended May 10. The jury deliberated for less than 2 1/2 hours before returning with the guilty verdict. They also convicted him of several other charges ranging from the aggravated discharge of a gun to being a felon in possession of a weapon.
He was sentenced to 80 years on the attempted murder charge and given sentences adding up to another 77 years on the other offenses, but those sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. Brought into court shackled hand and foot, Williams is already serving a five-year sentence imposed in 2022 for obstruction of justice; his 80 year sentence was imposed consecutive to that prison term and must be served at 85%.
Geisler told Williams he found nothing to consider in favor of being merciful towards him. He said he had been moved by Vail’s testimony and described the attempt to kill her as a “brutal act.”
Vail had been chasing Williams on foot around 2:30 a.m. on city streets after he had fled from an earlier vehicle pursuit. Jurors watched her body cam video which showed her close by a chain link fence Williams had just scrambled over in the 300 block of South Maffit Street when she suddenly cries out in pain from the gunshot.
Assistant Macon County State’s Attorney Michael Baggett said Williams’ handgun, altered to fully automatic, held an extended magazine packed with 33 rounds.
Williams’ defense had centered around his claim that it was all a case of mistaken identity and Vail had never been able to identify the gunman who shot at her. The officer, who had fought back tears at times during the trial, had to face cross-examination from Williams in the courtroom.
The defendant had been arrested a few minutes after the shooting by police patrols flooding into the area; he had been found walking along a nearby street.
Baggett said the evidence against him had been overwhelming. The gun in the shooting was linked to him by DNA analysis, which also showed he had been driving the vehicle Vail had pursued. Williams behavior after his arrest didn’t help his case, either: he had washed his hands in his own feces in order to defeat a gunshot residue test.
The courtroom for Thursday’s sentencing hearing was packed with more than 30 police officers who were there to show moral support for Vail. Among them was Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel who praised the work of Baggett and said he was satisfied with the severe punishment handed down to a criminal he labeled as “psychopath.”
He said he also hoped the public who hear Vail’s words will come away with a deeper understanding of the emotional toll of being a cop.
“We’re not some infallible object; we’re human beings and there is a lot of emotion that goes into this job and, with the type of work we do and the danger that we face, there are consequences to that as well and, unfortunately, she is suffering through it right now,” he added.
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