Man who shot unarmed guard during Casino Queen robbery sentenced in St. Clair County court
A Georgia man convicted of an armed robbery of the Casino Queen and shooting an unarmed security guard in 2017 was sentenced Friday to 49 years in an Illinois prison.
Daryl S. Muhammad, 48, of Marietta, Georgia was found guilty in November of armed robbery and aggravated battery with a firearm, both class X felonies, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a class 2 felony.
He’ll serve at least 85% of his term, according to a press release from Illinois State Police, which investigated the crime.
“We appreciate the assistance of the Illinois State Police, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, and all the other agencies that came together to achieve this just result,” said St. Clair County State’s Attorney James Gomric in a statement. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated in St. Clair County and this prosecution showed that. Finally, we thank the court for imposing this strong sentence.”
Larry Weber, a private security guard and New Athens firefighter, was shot during an armed robbery. He suffered serious internal injuries as a result of the shooting, according to reporting in the BND at the time. He recovered, and returned to work.
According to court records, Muhammad and two other men entered the valet of the Casino Queen at about 2 a.m. on Sept. 17, 2017 and ordered employees to get on the ground as they fired shots.
One man stayed behind to hold guards at gunpoint, and the other two headed toward the cashiers booth in the casino. Weber approached the booth and was shot. The man behind the counter at the booth opened drawers and started filling bags with cash, state police said.
All three suspects were carrying rifles. Weber, who was unarmed, was shot by one of the three men, later determined to be Muhammad.
The three suspects then fled the casino with $47,000 cash. The stolen money was found near the abandoned getaway car in East St. Louis at Exchange Avenue and 17th Street, state police reported.
Muhammad was arrested and charged in January of 2019 in Cobb County, Georgia.
Special Assistant State’s Attorney John Trippi and Assistant State’s Attorney Alex Starnes prosecuted the case.