PEORIA — A Chicago man was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years behind bars for a Sept. 28, 2016, shooting at a South Peoria nightclub that sent three people to the hospital.
Ezyekeio Sidney, 37, dressed sharply in a gray suit and apologized to the victims and to his family for his actions that night at Kareena’s VIP Lounge, 1801 SW Adams St. He said he accepted full responsibility and deserved some sort of punishment. And Chief Peoria County Judge Paul Gilfillan noted Sidney's well-mannered behavior, lack of criminal history, family members who were there to support him and his education, but in the end, shooting three people demanded a significant sentence, he said.
Sidney pleaded guilty in October to two counts of aggravated battery. Peoria County prosecutors agreed to drop three more serious counts of attempted first-degree murder, another aggravated battery count and a single count of possession of a weapon by a felon. The plea deal also had both sentences served concurrently, not consecutively. Any prison term — probation isn’t an option — would be served at 85 percent, said his attorney Chandra Justice of Peoria. Without the deal, he would have faced at least 31 years on the attempted murder charge.
He was arrested in April of this year by U.S. Marshals and police in Madison, Wis., where he was found at a house. The spokesman for the Marshals Service said the agency had been working on the case since the shooting and, through the use of informants and other leads, tracked Sidney to Wisconsin. He was taken into custody without incident. It appears he was trying to hide in an attic crawl space when he was arrested, the spokesman said.
The shooting occurred at 10:20 p.m. at the club. Three people were shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Sidney, however, pleaded guilty to only two of the shootings. A birthday party was being held in the bar, with about 20 people inside. According to a report filed at the Peoria Police Department, witnesses said they were on the dance floor when they heard two “pops.” No one clearly saw the shooter. A 21-year-old woman who was one of the victims told police she was dancing, heard the shots and then felt pain in her right thigh, where she had been shot.
Prosecutor Nancy Mermelstein played surveillance footage from the bar that clearly showed the shooting. She said three innocent people were injured due to Sidney's actions. Justice countered that while her client made a "horrible" mistake, he owned up to it and pleaded guilty.
Andy Kravetz is the Journal Star public safety reporter. He can be reached at 686-3283 and akravetz@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @andykravetz.