Champaign man sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatal 2021 shooting

URBANA — A Champaign man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting another man in northwest Urbana in 2021.

Bruce D. Stennis, 26, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of second-degree murder before Champaign County Judge Randy Rosenbaum, who accepted the sentence recommended by the state and the district attorney. Stennis defense, Aaron Rosenblatt.

In exchange for the negotiated plea, the state dismissed first-degree murder charges for the June 12, 2021 death of Montez Jones, 23.

An Urbana police report showed that in the days before the shooting, Stennis sent text messages to a woman he previously dated, threatening her if she saw another man.

Stennis then went to the woman’s home in the 1400 block of West Hill Street around 2 a.m. on June 12 and found her in a car nearby with Mr. Jones. Stennis confronted her and Mr. Jones tried to intervene and fought with Stennis, the woman later reported to police.

During the altercation, Stennis shot Mr. Jones once in the chest, killing him.

The woman was the only witness to the fatal shooting and the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stennis did not unreasonably believe he was acting in self-defense when he fired, said Assistant State’s Attorney Joel Fletcher.

Stennis was also sentenced to five years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to manufacturing and delivering one to 15 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony.

In this separate case, Urbana police responded to a report that Stennis had harassed his then-girlfriend and therefore officers had reason to search his car on May 7, 2021, where they found a quantity of ” significant amount” of cocaine, Fletcher said.

Stennis had already served 1,002 days in prison. He faces up to 20 years in prison for second-degree murder and 15 years in prison for manufacturing and delivery.