Peoria’s embroiled in a gang war as we speak as groups of mostly illiterate gang bangers battle it out for turf to sell small amounts of drugs and the prestige of violence. And an incident from this past weekend in downtown Peoria illustrates, in part why there’s so much violence.
First the incident at Big Al’s.
Yeah, that Big Al’s. Looks slick from the above graphic right?
There it is in real life. No offense to the gentlemen there, but those don’t appear to be exactly top shelf guys. So when a very much not-even bottom shelf 20-year-old Lexani Garcia tried to increase his “status” by illegally carrying a gun and brandishing it, someone decided to call the cops.
The police show up and arrested the 20-year-old.
They issued him a notice to appear and released him, almost assuredly even before the cop finished his paperwork for the arrest.
Catch and release.
From WMBD radio:
PEORIA, Ill. – A man is in custody after he allegedly had a gun in his possession near a popular downtown Peoria adult club.
Peoria Police say Lexani Garcia, 20, was taken into custody on charges of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Possession of a Firearm Under 21, and No FOID Card.
Police were called to an area in the vicinity of Big Al’s around 2:30 Sunday morning and say Garcia tried to flee the scene where a large number of people had gathered.
Officers say they found the gun on Garcia and took him into custody.
Jail records indicate, however, Garcia was released from custody after being given a notice to appear in court.
So when news came out of the quintuple shooting this week, where two of the vics assumed room temperature, why would it surprise anyone. Tough guys, gang members and low-life criminals carry guns brazenly. They don’t give a damn about magazine capacity limits, or laws against full-auto firearms.
Lord knows they aren’t exactly reticent about shooting at people.
But then again, with the two of the three local Peoria public high schools graduating exactly 1% and 3% of students reading at grade level, is it any wonder young people gravitate towards the glamorous gang lifestyle?
As borderline illiterate people, they won’t likely get a decent job, buy a house, get married and have kids, raise a family and have a career as a contributing member of society.
These gang members trade in the prestige of violence.
From the Peoria Journal-Star:
PEORIA — Two people were killed in two separate shootings that police believe were related as a wave of gun violence shocked the city Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The shootings Thursday morning came on the heels of a mass shooting Wednesday night that left six people — four of them juveniles — injured. The mass shooting is not believed to be related to the violence Thursday morning, police said.
Two males were shot in the 2100 block of West Antoinette Street on Thursday morning around 9 a.m., just 12 hours after the mass shooting on Marquette Street. One victim of the Antionette Street shooting was later pronounced dead. He was identified as Billy Chaplin, a 23-year-old from Peoria, according to Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood.
SURPRISE!
Nobody’s in custory.
If we just spent more money on schools and after school programs and government jobs, there wouldn’t be any crime