PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria man has been convicted for his role in a Fourth of July fatal shooting four years ago.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says 36-year-old Raekwon Pickett was convicted Monday of First Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery with a Firearm for the 2022 shooting after a two-day bench trial.
Pickett is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19th.
The shooting killed 19-year-old Quinton Scott and injured another man. Scott died of multiple gunshot wounds, including two in the back, after arriving via private vehicle to a local hospital. The second man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
Pickett fled to Texas after the shooting, and was arrested about a month later and returned to Peoria.
Peoria Police responded to the Taft Homes, now known at Providence Point, at around 3:30 A.M. that morning. There, officers found shell casings, projectiles, and blood on the ground.
Prosecutors played security camera footage during the trial that showed a small group gathering outside the Taft Homes, when an individual, later identified as Pickett, approached Scott from behind and shot him in the back.
Testimony from the trial revealed a fight broke out between two women before the shooting. Scott and Pickett’s brother became involved, with prosecutors saying Pickett got angered after Scott knocked out his brother during the fight.
Forensic testing showed a firearm recovered by investigators matched shell casings and projectiles collected at the scene. Prosecutors also showed video evidence from the night of the murder that showed Pickett in possession of a firearm that was similar to the one that was recovered.
Prosecutors say cell phone data from Pickett’s phone placed him at Taft Homes during the time of the murder.
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