BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL
Commercial-News
DANVILLE —
The last defendant in the shooting death of a Danville man more than a year ago was sentenced this week.
Torrence Woods, 37, of Danville was sentenced in Vermilion County Circuit Court on Tuesday to two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in connection with the shooting of Bennie Moten in 2009.
Vermilion County State’s Attorney Randy Brinegar said the state had asked for a higher prison term. The charge, a Class 4 felony, carried with it a sentence of up to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The sentence was the result of a plea agreement Woods entered in June, reducing the charge to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He originally faced 10 charges in the case, including three counts of first-degree murder.
Bennie Moten of Danville died the morning of July 6 after he was shot outside his business, JB Professional Detailing, in the 700 block of Cleveland Street. The 45-year-old Moten was hit with multiple bullets.
Six men were indicted by a grand jury on counts of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with the incident.
Four men charged — Antonio Morris, 28, of Chicago, and Michael Sullivan, 34, Victor Lee, 20, and Stanley Porter Jr., 19, all of Danville — had already entered plea agreements with prosecutors prior to June.
Lee and Porter received five-year terms on charges of possession of a firearm without identification. Sullivan and Morris each pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for terms of eight and 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, respectively.
Reginald Siler of Chicago pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder on June 25. As part of the agreement, he was to receive an eight-year prison term.
