UPDATED 4/17 4:15 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos says the man accused in relation to a fatal shooting in Dunlap Friday morning has been charged.
Hoos says 26-year-old Walter Artis was charged over the weekend with Attempt First-Degree Murder, Home Invasion, and two counts of Aggravated Battery with a Firearm.
She adds that a First-Degree Murder charges will be added when the case goes to the Grand Jury next month.
Artis is accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old Alexis Boland of Princeville.
According to a witness, Artist forced his way into the apartment that Boland was in and fired multiple shots at her, striking Boland in the head and torso. He then fled in his vehicle.
Officers arrived on the scene to find a neighbor trying to save Boland’s life by performing CPR and putting pressure over her wounds.
Boland was declared brain-dead on Sunday.
Artis’ vehicle was found a couple hours later in a motel parking lot in Morton. He was then observed exiting a taxi in the area. Artis attempted to flee when police approached him, but was taken into custody after a brief chase. A handgun was also found in a backpack that Artis had on him.
Artis is currently in the Peoria County Jail on a $2.5 million bond.
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PEORIA, Ill. – The victim in an apartment shooting Friday morning in Dunlap has died.
That’s according to Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood, who says Alexis Boland, 22 of Princeville, was taken to the hospital Friday morning, and was declared brain dead Sunday morning.
Boland suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
The man accused of doing the shooting at a Dunlap apartment complex, Walter Artis, 26, of Peoria, was found two hours later at a Morton gas station and taken into custody on weapons charges and Aggravated Battery.
Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins says he’s recommended First Degree Murder charges to the States Attorney in the case, saying those charges should go in front of a Grand Jury in the near future.
Walter Artis is currently in the Peoria County Jail on a $2.5 million dollar bond.
Meanwhile, Harwood says an autopsy on Boland will be conducted following organ donation procedures.
