THE FOLLOWING RELEASE IS FROM THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE
FEBRUARY 28, 2025
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced his office obtained a guilty verdict in its prosecution of a Vermilion County man on trial for the 2023 stabbing death of another Vermilion County man.
A Vermilion County Circuit Court jury found Jesse Landers, 43, of Danville, Illinois, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of John Carmean, 35, also from Danville. Landers’ next court date is scheduled for April 17.
“While nothing will change the events of that tragic day, it is my hope this verdict will provide some sense of closure for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence,” Raoul said. “I look forward to continued partnerships with the Vermilion County State’s Attorney’s Office in protecting residents from violent crimes and holding those who commit them accountable.”
According to Raoul, Landers stabbed Carmean on a Danville street on the evening of Jan. 3, 2023. Before being taken away by first responders, Carmean identified Landers as the individual who stabbed him. Landers was later found walking along a nearby roadway. The murder weapon was found the following day in a nearby alley, and it contained both the victim’s blood as well as the defendant’s DNA.
The Attorney General’s office is prosecuting the case with Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline M. Lacy’s office.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to the jury, for their careful attention to the evidence and for delivering a guilty verdict in this case,” said Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline M. Lacy. “I would also like to extend my sympathies to the family of the victim for their heartbreaking loss. While there are no words that can ever fully heal the pain they’ve had to experience, I hope that this conviction brings them some sense of closure. Our thoughts remain with them as they continue to grieve.”
Deputy Bureau Chief Jonathan McKay and Supervising Attorney Daniel Weiler are prosecuting the case for Raoul’s Criminal Prosecutions and Trials Assistance Bureau along with Assistant State’s Attorney Jamison Gent from the Vermilion County State’s Attorney’s Office.
