URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — An Urbana man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting a man during a robbery at a Champaign hotel last year.
Kejuan McFarland, 27, appeared in court on Monday to hear his sentencing after admitting guilt to aggravated battery with a firearm earlier this year. Under a plea agreement, McFarland faced a potential 25-year sentence for the Class X felony.
Judge Roger Weber handed McFarland a 20-year prison sentence, granting him credit for the 316 days he had already been in custody. McFarland is required to serve 85% of this sentence.
The investigation into the June 5, 2024, incident at the Days Inn on Bloomington Road revealed that McFarland and two women joined the victim and an acquaintance in a hotel room. The victim acknowledged knowing the two women but was unfamiliar with McFarland.
One woman informed police that she observed McFarland tearing a hoodie and tying it around his face before entering the hotel room. Inside, McFarland allegedly pointed a gun at the victim’s head and demanded money.
During the sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Joel Fletcher highlighted how the situation narrowly avoided becoming a murder. While aiming at the victim’s head, McFarland’s gun misfired on the first attempt. He then aimed lower, squeezed the trigger again, and the subsequent shot struck the victim’s chest.
After shooting the victim, McFarland stole a backpack full of cash and fled the scene.
Testimony from one of the women who accompanied McFarland to the hotel, along with surveillance footage, played crucial roles in identifying him as the shooter. He faced four charges: two counts of attempted murder and one each of aggravated battery with a firearm and armed robbery.
Under the plea deal McFarland reached with prosecutors, the attempted murder and armed robbery counts were dismissed, along with an unrelated case where McFarland failed to register a new address as a sex offender.
Despite the other case being dismissed, Fletcher used it as part of his argument for why McFarland should receive the maximum sentence allowed under the plea deal. He said McFarland’s refusal of court orders and a criminal history dating back to his youth were grounds for a sentence that would protect the community and deter similar behavior.
McFarland’s attorney, Public Defender Elizabeth Pollock, argued that while McFarland does have a criminal record, this was the first gun crime he was convicted of. She also pointed to the fact that at the time of the crime, he and the others were drinking and smoking.
McFarland himself also spoke during the hearing, apologizing for his actions.
In the end, Judge Webber sentenced McFarland to 20 years in prison, five years short of the maximum sentence he could have imposed.
