A 26-year-old Peoria man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for an Independence Day 2022 shooting that killed one person and injured another at the former Taft Homes residential complex.
Judge Sean Donahue issued the sentence to Raekwon Pickett during a Peoria County Court hearing Tuesday, after finding him guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm in a June bench trial.
Pickett was convicted of killing Quinton Scott Jr., 19, and injuring another man in the incident. Donahue determined Pickett killed Scott for intervening on someone else’s behalf.
Testimony indicated Scott knocked out Pickett’s brother hours before the shooting as he tried to stop a physical altercation between two women.
Pickett left the area after the incident, but was arrested more than a month later.
According to a news release from the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, Donahue told Pickett, “Two lives have been destroyed by senseless violence.”
Peoria Police Department officers responded to the 600 block of NE Madison around 3:30 a.m. on July 4, 2022, and found evidence of a shooting on the ground. Two victims arrived at a local hospital in a private vehicle.
Scott had been shot multiple times, including twice in the back. The second victim suffered a wound to his leg that was not life-threatening.
Security footage showed a group gathered outside when Pickett approached from behind and fired shots at Scott.
