Man enters guilty plea in shooting death of 63-year-old butcher shop employee in Rockford
The man charged in the fatal 2023 shooting of a Pinnon Meats employee has pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder.
William Jones, 41, made his plea in front of Judge Brendan Maher, Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley announced Friday.
On Jan. 11, 2023, Rockford police officers responded to Pinnon Meats in the 2300 block of North Court Street for a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, later identified as Peggy Anderson, 63, lying on the ground near stairs at the back of the business with a single gunshot wound to her chest. Anderson was transported to a Rockford hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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Detectives quickly identified Jones as the suspect. Surveillance video from the business showed Jones assaulted and robbed Anderson as she was walking out of the backdoor of the business. Jones then fled in Anderson’s vehicle with several items he took from her.
A short time later, Anderson’s vehicle was located abandoned in the 2000 block of Douglas Street. A warrant was issued for Jones, and in March of 2023, he was arrested in Alabama.
First-degree murder is a class M felony punishable by 20-60 years in prison. The sentence imposed shall be served at 100%.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced at 10 a.m. on June 21.
Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and Twitter @chrisfgreen.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Guilty plea entered in deadly 2023 Pinnon Meats shooting in Rockford
