St. Clair County judge splits decision on release of two suspects in Belleville shooting
The two men charged in connection with a Belleville shooting over the weekend asked to get out of the county jail before their trials.
The request by the man who allegedly fired first was denied and will be detained. The other man has been released.
Multiple people were injured in the Friday night shooting, including one of the suspects, according to authorities. The Belleville Police Department has said the injuries were not considered life threatening.
The shooting occurred between two groups of people at the apartments above the Home Brite Ace Hardware store at the corner of East D Street and North Illinois Street.
James M. Walker, 64, of Belleville was told Wednesday by a St. Clair County judge that he could leave the county jail if he wears an electronic monitoring device and if probation officers can verify he has a home in Belleville. Walker faces charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
On Tuesday, Michael A. Edwards, 56, of Cahokia Heights was ordered to remain in the county jail. Edwards faces charges of felon in possession of a firearm/forcible felony, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
St. Clair County Associate Judge Sara L. Rice conducted the detention hearings for Walker and Edwards, who were both arrested Friday night shortly after the shooting.
Rice said during Walker’s hearing on Wednesday afternoon that the case is in an “early stage” and ruled that Walker could be released on an electronic monitor. She said Walker was not the aggressor, he wasn’t actually charged with shooting someone and noted he has no prior felony conviction.
Walker was represented by St. Clair County Assistant Public Defender Zachary Luetkemyer, who asked Rice to allow Walker to be released from the county jail because he had acted in “self-defense” in the shooting.
“Mr. Walker is protecting some who just got shot,” Luetkemyer said. He was referring to the son of Walker’s girlfriend.
St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Levi Carwile asked that Walker remain in the county jail until his trial and told Rice that there is surveillance video of the shooting. He said Walker had a handgun and was “firing down the hallway” of the apartments. A bullet hit Edwards in one of his feet, Carwile said.
In a detention hearing for Edwards on Tuesday, Rice ordered that Edwards remain in the county jail.
St. Clair County State’s Attorney Jim Gomric told Rice that Edwards had “no business” possessing a firearm since he is a convicted felon. Court records show Edwards was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon/no firearm in 2002 in Madison County.
St. Clair County Assistant Public Defender Satchel Conroy told Rice that Edwards was “defending himself” and “likely” would not be alive to attend the hearing if he had not done so.
“He’s not a troublemaker,” Conroy said.
Before announcing her order against Edwards, Rice noted that “gun violence is an ongoing threat to our community.”
Illinois judges have been conducting detention hearings since September 2023 for persons charged with serious offenses. If a judge considers a person dangerous to the community, the person can be remanded to the county jail until their trial, according to the revamped criminal justice system created by the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T, Act.
