Champaign man receives 56-year sentence for shooting that left 12-year-old disabled

URBANA — A Champaign man has been sentenced to 56 years in prison for firing at a car with three teenagers inside, including a 12-year-old who was permanently disabled when a bullet struck him in the neck.

Judge Roger Webber handed down the sentence Wednesday to Jamonte R. Hill, 30, after he was convicted of attempted murder by a Champaign County jury in December 2023.

On the evening of Oct. 19, 2022, the 12-year-old was in a car with another male and the then-16-year-old driver, who testified during Hill’s two-day trial that she was driving in west Champaign when she sensed that a white Toyota was following her. She stopped at a gas station and began following it to get its license plate. After going about two miles, she said, the driver stepped out into an unlit intersection near Sangamon and Dogwood drives and fired at least 17 rounds at her car, hitting the 12-year-boy in her backseat. No one was killed.

Hill was later tied to the shooting and arrested in January 2023. Automated license-plate readers captured a white Toyota in the area of the shooting — the vehicle was registered to Hill’s then-girlfriend, who testified that he was using her car that day.

A crime scene technician also found gunshot residue and Hill’s fingerprint in the Toyota. Forensic analysis of Hill’s phone showed that he downloaded a police-scanner app and texted somebody shortly after the shooting: “Cuz I need you to get me a room ASAP no bs.”

Though Hill was convicted late last year, his sentencing was continued numerous times over motions he filed claiming that his attorney, Chief Public Defender Elisabeth Pollock, was ineffective. He contended she should have asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that his right to a speedy trial was violated.

Representing himself in court on Wednesday, Hill further argued that the state should not have been granted a continuance ahead of the trial for DNA testing on a related case, and that the jury was prejudiced by testimony.

Ruling against those arguments, Webber noted that a case can only be dismissed if a motion regarding an alleged speedy trial violation is filed before a defendant is convicted.

While Pollock testified during a previous post-trial hearing that she recalled formally requesting a speedy trial, Webber said it was unclear that a violation occurred given that Hill, through Pollock, agreed to continuations requested by the state.

Recommending that Hill be sentenced to natural life in prison, Assistant State’s Attorney Brooke Hinman argued that he is a dangerous person with an extensive criminal record who has “only contributed negative things to our community.”

The prosecutor highlighted that after Hill’s two juvenile adjudications, his longest consecutive stretch outside of police custody before he was charged in this case was 390 days. He had been arrested on at least four different felony gun or drug charges.

Hinman also emphasized that while no gun tied to the 2022 shooting was ever located, police found a firearm of a different caliber in a residence tied to Hill, allegedly with Hill’s DNA on it.

Hinman argued that Hill could have disposed of the weapon used in the shooting and illegally obtained a new one. The shooting itself showed he was willing to fire at anyone he was simply suspicious of, she added.

Hill requested he be sentenced to eight years in prison, arguing that his Class X felony conviction should be downgraded to a Class 1 offense because he was chased and provoked by the car that followed him that day.

But if sentenced on the statute as charged, Hill requested the minimum of 31 years in prison. He acknowledged that he had done things he shouldn’t have and said he was “addicted” to criminal behavior because it was all he knew.

“I know that, today, I’m not ready to be out on the streets, sir. I know that. I need to read my bible and get closer to God, get closer to myself, get closer to my family,” Hill said. “I’ve never even worked a job. I need to get myself together for the world and to live as a civilized person for society.”

Webber acknowledged there was some element of provocation in Hill believing he was being followed by the teens in the car, but said there was no evidence that Hill’s life was substantially threatened that night.

The judge also noted that, besides the 12-year-old being permanently paralyzed, the other two teens in the car could have easily been struck. Webber described the shooting as “one of the most outrageous, senseless crimes” in his years on the bench.

Hill must serve 85 percent of his sentence and will receive credit for 562 days already spent in jail. After the hearing, he indicated that he wanted to begin the process of appealing the outcome.