A young Danville man has been sentenced to two concurrent eight year prison terms for crimes involving firearms. Circuit Judge Nancy Fahey sentenced Tyjuan Watkins to eight years in prison for entering a home on Kentucky Street in Danville in August of 2018 and shooting a person who lived there. The sentence was for the charge of Aggravated Battery. At the time of the crime Watkins was just 16 years old, but Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy successfully petitioned the court to have the case handled in adult court.
Additionally, Watkins was sentenced to a concurrent 8 years in prison for a February, 2019 armed robbery of a Circle K gas station located along South Bowman Avenue in Danville. State’s Attorney Lacy says Watkins was the driver of a get-away vehicle in which two other subjects pulled the robbery. The three men fled from the scene and were involved in a high-speed chase with police before the van being operated by Watkins crashed along Lee Road. All three suspects were ultimately apprehended. Lacy says, fortunately, no citizens, law enforcement officers, or Circle K employees were injured in the incident. Lacy added she will continue to request that violent juvenile offenders be transferred to adult court to face penalties for violent crimes.
