Joseph Hembrough pleaded guilty to the Aug. 9, 2021, triple homicide. Hembrough, initially pleading not guilty, rejects his statement and is now admitting to committing the 1st-degree murder of Savante English, 27, Keyera Gant, 25, and Bryant K. Williams, 27.
Victims were shot and killed in a house in the 2500 block of South 10th Street in the Harvard Park neighborhood.
Hembrough’s original statement was admitting to bringing the gun into the house, but never firing it. The attorneys of the other defendants, Kelton Galmore and Larry McClain, said in Hembrough’s testimony that he offered inconsistent statements on later dates, making what he told the jury doubtful.
“Hembrough pleaded guilty on the eve of the trial and was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections.” Steven Spearie, a journalist for Springfield State Journal-Register wrote, “He testified against Galmore and McClain on Friday, saying while he was present and packing a gun, he didn’t shoot any of the victims.”
Hembrough’s sentence will be provided at 100%, with a three-year mandatory supervised release term. Joseph Hembrough pleaded guilty under the “accountability theory.” According to Illinois state laws, “people can be convicted of crimes with which they were associated but did not actually commit.” says journalist, Steven Spearie.
Hembrough was known as a convicted felon and a drug dealer. He said that Galmore, another defendant, showed him a Snapchat of a red car and large sums of money and said, “They could buy methamphetamine from Williams or ‘get it for free,’ meaning they could rob him.”
On the way to the house on Aug. 8, Hembrough and Galmore picked up McClain in Springfield. Hembrough said he did not know McClain at the time. Three years too late 2021 murder case finally coming to a close. They entered through the front door near 1 a.m. on Aug. 9. Hembrough brought out bags of methamphetamine and scales to finish the sale.
Galmore brought out a Glock 34, with a switch to make it shoot automatically. Williams tried to get the gun out of Galmore’s hand before he was shot multiple times. “McClain then shot English in the kitchen,” Hembrough testified.
