A Peoria man convicted of first-degree murder last month in a 2023 fatal shooting at a Center Bluff gas station has been sentenced to 73 years in prison.
A Peoria County jury found Amorta Nelson, 27, guilty of murder and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in causing the death of Antonio Hardy, 33, in September 2023. Hardy was shot in the back multiple times before a final shot to his head.
Chief Judge Katherine Gorman on Wednesday sentenced Nelson to 63 years on the murder charge and an additional 10 years for the illegal weapons possession. The sentences will be served consecutively.
According to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, Gorman noted Nelson had an opportunity to improve himself, but instead acted in a way “that cannot be tolerated.”
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Kristin Alferink argued that the killing was an execution, made more senseless because the reason it was carried out may never be known.
The murder at the Coopers gas station at the intersection of Sheridan and McClure was captured on surveillance video. The footage shows Hardy getting gas when Nelson got out of the passenger side of another vehicle, approaching from behind and firing his weapon.
