Mattoon school shooter to serve 25 years for violating juvenile sentence terms

MATTOON, Ill. (WAND) - A teen who opened fire at Mattoon High School when he was a minor will serve 25 years in prison after violating the terms of his juvenile sentence.

Josiah J. Lyons, 19, was 15 years old when the shooting occurred at the school in 2017. He was sentenced to juvenile detention in 2018.

Lyons pleaded guilty at that time to a charge of aggravated battery involving the discharge of a firearm. As part of the sentence terms, he would be in juvenile detention up to age 21, with the length of that time based on juvenile justice policy. If he failed to serve that sentence, he would face 25 years behind bars.

On Friday, Lyons was sentenced to serve the 25 year sentence on a petition to revoke his stayed adult sentence. Police said he "violated the terms of his extended juvenile jurisdiction" at the time of a December 2021 arrest by Mattoon law enforcement.

He was charged with violation of violent offender registration.