Peoria teen accused of machine gun shooting taken into custody by judge

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A Peoria County judge Monday ordered a Peoria man detained pending the outcome of charges that he possessed a machine gun.

Judge Mark Gilles ordered Korion Hopkins, 18, held in the Peoria County Jail until his case involving counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of weapons is resolved. resolved.

The latter charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years because it alleges that Hopkins possessed a handgun with a “switch” that allowed it to fire fully automatic.

He was arrested late last week and appeared in court Friday, where a judge found there was probable cause to continue, but agreed to postpone the detention hearing.

This is allowed by the Pretrial Fairness Act, which eliminated cash bail in Illinois and also governs how judges must decide whether or not a person is detained pending the outcome of their case.

This is important because these remand hearings can be the equivalent of a mini-trial. Not on the facts of the case, but rather on whether it is safe to allow a person to be released.

Hopkins and another 16-year-old were under investigation for an earlier shooting at the Greenwood Estates apartment complex, located at 725 W Hurlburt St. That location was formerly known as the Village apartment complex Green.

Peoria police and the Peoria County Sheriff's Office staked out the intersection of West Laura and Cortland avenues before searching a home Wednesday believed to be linked to one of the individuals.

Six weapons in total were recovered from the residence, including three Glocks, one of which had a switch that caused it to fire like a machine gun, a Polymer 80 handgun and an AK-47 style rifle.

According to court records, Peoria police officers saw Hopkins streaming a live video on Instagram from the West Peoria address. In the video, Hopkins showed several of the weapons seized during the raid.

Preliminary tests have linked four of these weapons to shell casings recovered from 20 recent shootings.

The 16-year-old remains in custody at the county juvenile detention center for a probation violation and will likely face additional charges.

Hopkins is expected to appear in court late next month, but it is likely a grand jury will hear the case before then.