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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A Champaign man will spend the next 20 years in prison for a 2021 murder he committed when he was 17 years old.
Tony Brock, 20, was charged three years ago with adult counts of first-degree murder, accusing him of killing Brandon Kelly the morning of Halloween 2021. Trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday, and a jury had been selected, but Brock reached a plea deal with prosecutors that day and avoided trial.
He pleaded guilty to one of the murder charges against him with the rest being dismissed. Judge Randy Rosenbaum then sentenced him to two decades in prison.
In pleading guilty, Brock admitted to shooting and killing Kelly on Oct. 31, 2021. Police determined that there was a Halloween party in the parking lot of the Parkland Pointe apartments; during that party, Kelly was left with a group of people, and they encountered another group. For reasons still unknown, someone in the other group opened fire and Kelly was hit five times; he later died at the hospital. Police found 20 shell casings at the scene.
Julia Rietz, the Champaign County State’s Attorney, said surveillance footage showed the shooter was wearing a puffy coat with a fur collar. Investigators later obtained video posted on social media by another person in the parking lot and Rietz said Brock was seen in the video wearing the puffy coat worn by the shooter.
Three months after the shooting, a judge signed off on an arrest warrant and Brock was arrested at his home in Savoy. Rietz said the puffy coat was found inside the home, along with three guns. Brock’s fingerprints were found on one of those guns.
As part of his sentencing, Brock was given credit for 1,100 days he already served in custody.