Waukegan Woman Shot by Police in 2020 Fights to Dismiss Charges

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) — A Waukegan woman is asking a judge to dismiss criminal charges against her.

Tafara Williams was shot by a police officer in 2020, while her fiancé, Marcellis Stinnette, was killed.

The officer who fired the shots has since been charged with second-degree murder.

Williams’ attorney said the defense recently learned that another officer had lied in a police report connected to the incident in which Stinnette was shot and killed.

Court records state that Williams and Stinnette were sitting in a parked car in a Waukegan park when Officer James Keating approached them.

Williams eventually began driving away. Keating said the car struck him, prompting a second officer, Dante Salinas, to fire five shots into the vehicle. Williams was wounded, and Stinnette was killed.

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Williams was arrested and charged with a felony for fleeing the scene. Salinas was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter and was later fired by the police department.

On Thursday, Williams’ attorney said the defense recently learned that Keating’s 2022 termination from the Waukegan Police Department involved the discovery that he had repeatedly lied in police reports, including the report in Williams’ case.

Her attorney said the revelation strengthens the defense’s claim that Williams and Stinnette were subjected to racial discrimination. He also argued that Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart should never have filed the charges.

“What we’re saying in the motion to dismiss is that this case began with a grand jury proceeding, and when it began with the grand jury proceeding, somebody besides Officer Keating testified before the grand jury, completely whitewashing this case, ignoring the fact that the chief of police had said the underlying documents, the underlying police report, had false representations, and none of that was presented to the grand jury,” Williams’ attorney, Blake Horowitz, said.

Williams did not speak Thursday, but her attorney said she has shown courage while working to move forward and raise her young children.