William Jones gets 55 years in prison for killing Rockford butcher shop employee

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) – Winnebago County Judge Brendan Maher, on Wednesday, sent the man who gunned down an employee of a Rockford meat market in broad daylight last year to 55 years in prison.

Jones, 41, appeared in court with Public Defender Nick Zimmerman, a little more than a month after entering his second plea of guilty in the 2023 shooting death of 63-year-old Peggy Anderson.

“I got no excuse,” Jones told Anderson’s family at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. “It wasn’t on purpose. The only thing I can say is, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know the gun was loaded.”

Jones shot Anderson on Jan. 11, 2023, just outside the apartment she lived in above Pinnon Meats, 2424 N. Court Street.

Thomas Baker, the former owner of Pinnon’s Meats, said he heard the shot and told the court Jones pointed a gun at him as he fled the scene.

Jones then stole Anderson’s car, dumping it a few blocks away. He was arrested in the early hours of Feb. 4, 2023, in Huntsville, Alabama.

Authorities say robbery was the motive.

“I ask you, judge, please lock this man up for life so he can’t kill another person,” Baker said.

At the sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Len LaRue requested no less than a 52-and-a-half-year sentence for Jones, saying, “This defendant has been committing crimes since 2003. He had opportunities to get his life together, but he never committed to doing that.”

Zimmerman advocated for a lesser sentence, saying Jones was an illicit drug user who accepted responsibility for the murder.

In his sentencing, Judge Maher told Jones, “[You] committed [your] first felony in 2002. You had the opportunity to change. The whole community knows about this case. It was an unexplained act of violence. You can’t do things like this and get away with it.”

Jones was given 543 days credit for time served.

Anderson’s brother-in-law, Keith Harmon, was present at today’s proceedings. After the sentencing, he said, “There’s no way to describe how somebody feels when they lose someone for no reason, and we clearly lost her for no reason. Ultimately, a sentence of 55 years is exactly what he deserves.”

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