Man Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison for 2022 Murder

November 14, 2025, Peoria, IL - Today, Erick D. Jackson, 21, was sentenced to 80 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a 2022 shooting that killed a 15-year-old boy and injured an adult man in Peoria.

A Peoria County Jury found Jackson guilty in September 2025 of First-Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery with a Firearm. Judge Paul Bauer sentenced Jackson to 70 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the murder and 10 years for the battery charge. These sentences will be served one after the other, for a total of 80 years. By law, Jackson must serve 100% of his sentence on the murder charge.

On November 7, 2022, police responded to three separate ShotSpotter alerts indicating 21 rounds were fired near the former Quest Charter Academy. When officers arrived, they found two gunshot victims. Fifteen-year-old Merian Smith was found in the backyard of a residence with a gunshot wound to the head and was later pronounced dead. A second victim sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Surveillance video from the area showed three males running past a garage near the time of the shooting and touching it. Fingerprint testing identified one set of prints belonging to Jackson. Three sets of shell casings were recovered near the scene.

A search warrant executed at Jackson's home led officers to a firearm, and testing confirmed the shell casings recovered from the murder scene matched that firearm.

During sentencing, Assistant State's Attorney Kristin Alferink noted the shooting occurred in broad daylight just after school had let out, and it was a miracle no one else was injured or killed. She asked the court to impose a lengthy prison sentence.

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