Charges reinstated against 18-year-old

MORRISON – Charges have been reinstated against a Creston man arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting during a Nov. 6 Sterling house party.

John J. Smith, 18, was arrested Thursday on a $100,000 warrant; he is charged with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

He will be arraigned Feb. 1.

Smith originally was charged with a single count of aggravated discharge of a firearm in the shooting at 1207 Second Ave. That charge was dropped Nov. 17 when Whiteside County Associate Judge Michael Albert ruled there was not enough evidence to justify the charge.

Prosecutors disagreed, and took the case to a grand jury, which returned the three-count indictment on Dec. 19. By law, the jury had to be told of the judge’s ruling.

Jeremy L. Williams and Antonio M. Martinez, both 19 and of Rochelle, each are charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm. They are in Whiteside County Jail on $500,000 and $200,000 bond, respectively, and have pretrial conferences Wednesday.

According to police testimony at the preliminary hearing:

Police went to the home at 4:14 a.m. after neighbors heard shots. Witnesses said a fight broke out during the party over whether Rochelle was “tougher” than Sterling. A partygoer punched Smith, and Smith, Martinez, and Williams were kicked out.

The three men and a 16-year-old Sterling girl jumped into Williams’ pickup truck.

The girl heard someone say, “Let’s light this place up.” She saw Williams, who was in the driver’s seat, fire a handgun at the house. She said it sounded like someone in the back of the truck also was firing, although she didn’t know who.

One man was injured by shards of glass when a bullet went through a large picture window, otherwise, no one was shot.

The three drove to Rochelle, where they were arrested 45 minutes later during a traffic stop.

Police found a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber handgun in a pocket behind the driver’s seat and live rounds in a cup holder next to the driver’s seat. The bullets matched those found at the house. They also found a cap gun in the truck.