Man jailed for life after killing security guard
Lamentae R. Turner was jailed for life following his first-degree murder conviction in Illinois
An Illinois man was sentenced to life in prison on July 10, 2026, for the first-degree murder of a security guard who was followed from a nightclub and fatally shot at a gas station. Lamentae R. Turner, 25, received the maximum penalty for the January 2023 killing of Stashaun Wheeler, 35, in Peoria.
PEOPLE reported that a Peoria County news release detailed how surveillance footage and mobile phone data tracked Turner at the nightclub with Wheeler before following him to a Casey’s gas station. Digital recording systems at the business captured Turner and an unidentified accomplice approaching the victim in the parking lot. The two men fired at least 10 shots at Wheeler before fleeing the scene on foot. Emergency services responded to reports of a shooting and discovered the victim with multiple gunshot wounds, pronouncing him dead at the scene.
A jury convicted Turner of first-degree murder and the unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon in May 2025. The final sentencing hearing took place this month after the legal defence team requested multiple continuances. During the court proceedings, the victim's mother, Kelly Bond, delivered an emotional statement describing the loss of her child as the most painful experience of her life. Bond stated that if she had to spend the rest of her life visiting her son in a cemetery, then the defendant should remain in prison for the duration of his life.
Obituary details remembered Wheeler as a dedicated professional who enjoyed his morning coffee, playing slot machines, lifting weights, and dressing in designer footwear. Turner will serve his life sentence without the possibility of parole in an Illinois state correctional facility. Investigators have not released further details regarding the identity or whereabouts of the second suspect captured on the security footage.
