EAST ST. LOUIS – The Illinois State Police (ISP) Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) announces the conviction of 30-year-old Thomas A. Stocker, for Attempted First Degree Murder and Aggravated Battery with a Firearm, after a jury trial on April 4, 2024. He was sentenced on Tuesday to serve 85 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory supervised release. By statute, Stocker is required to serve 85% of his sentence.
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The evidence presented throughout the trial showed that Stocker, who had made the victim's acquaintance on a social media application, met with the victim in person on September 2, 2022 at Frank Holten State Park in East St. Louis before shooting the victim multiple times. Stocker then walked up to the victim, who had fallen to the ground, and fired a final shot into the victim’s head. The victim was subsequently transported to St. Louis University Hospital for lifesaving treatment; however, a bullet still remained in the victim’s head. An investigation by ISP PSEG agents led to an identification of Stocker and when he was apprehended, law enforcement officers located the firearm used during the commission of the crime.
State’s Attorney James Gomric stated, “I want to thank the Court for handing down this strong sentence and my assistants who worked tirelessly on this case. Finally, I want to thank the men and women of the ISP for their thorough and professional investigation without which there could be no justice here. I wish the victim in this case the best on the path to recovery and hope that this sentence is some measure of closure.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant States Attorneys Derek Smith and Paris Bateman of the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office Violent Crime Unit.
