URBANA, Ill. (WAND) – Attempted murder and aggravated battery charges against a Champaign man have officially been dropped.
Reonte Williams, 19, was charged with shooting an 18-year-old victim at close range on June 15, 2018. He was accused of firing a weapon more than once as the victim ran. The News-Gazette reports police found handguns and ammunition when they searched Williams’ home.
Williams was arrested in early July and had a jury trial scheduled in Champaign County.
The newspaper reports charges were dropped because the victim was reluctant to testify against the suspect. The prosecution said there were “problems” with other witnesses in the case and, as a result, they didn’t feel like they could prove their case. Assistant State’s Attorney Christopher McCallum dismissed the charges.
Chief Criminal Deputy Attorney Troy Lazar said a lack of cooperation from civilian witnesses can “make it difficult or impossible” to the state to move forward with prosecuting a case. Prosecutors also said forensics in the Williams case “returned as insufficient to bring the necessary gaps to prove the case” despite “significant efforts by investigators and the crime lab”.
The victim in the June 15 shooting faces a misdemeanor weapons charge in a different case. Charges against that person were filed on Feb. 28.
