Dale Fleming

Dale Fleming, 29 

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Decatur police have offered criticism of the sentence a Macon County judge handed down to a man who shot at an occupied vehicle. 

The case in question is about Dale Fleming, 29, who fired gunshots at a car on Nov. 1, 2020 in the 1200 block of E. Hickory St. in Decatur. Police found cartridge casings on the front porch of 1267 E. Hickory and obtained a search warrant, through which they said they found suspected cocaine, ammunition and additional casings. 

Officers reported learning two people were shooting at a vehicle, including Fleming. Fleming was arrested on a warrant for attempted murder and the second suspect was not identified. 

One victim in that shooting arrived at a local hospital with a car that had bullet defects in it, police said. 

Fleming faced an attempted murder charge and two charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle. In exchange for a guilty plea entered on April 30, 2021, the attempted murder charge and one of the aggravated discharge counts were dismissed. 

Prosecutors requested a 25-year prison sentence in the case. According to court records, Macon County Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Geisler sentenced Fleming to 10 years in prison, of which 85 percent had to be served, and gave credit for time served from Nov. 5, 2020 to June 1, 2021. Police estimated the end sentence to be 7 years and 10 months - something they said was not good enough. 

"As a community, expect better. A judge is a public servant and should be held accountable as such," a statement from the Decatur Police Department Criminal Investigations page on Facebook said. "Neighborhoods experiencing violent crime and senseless gun violence do not deserve a weak stance on these issues and/or on those who commit such crimes.

"Our officers are regularly being called to complaints of shots fired, discovering shooting victims, property damage and collecting spent/fired casings. Sentences like above not only embolden the criminal but jeopardizes the safety of our officers. Value should be placed on the safety of our community and on the officers that protect it, not those who seek to destroy lives, neighborhoods and do not adhere to a rule of law."

Police noted Fleming has a criminal history, including 2011 sentences for home invasion (16 years in prison) and aggravated criminal sexual abuse (6 years), with those sentences to be served concurrently between both charges.

Law enforcement thanked the Macon County State's Attorney's Office for pursuing what it called an "appropriate sentence." 

WAND News reached out to Judge Geisler's office by phone for a statement on Friday and did not immediately hear back. The station also reached out to Macon County State's Attorney Scott Rueter's office by email.