In West Peoria, a significant courtroom decision came today as 43-year-old Anthony T. Gates entered a guilty plea for Aggravated Battery connected to a shooting incident at Mike’s Tavern last year. Gates, who caused a disturbance at the tavern, was asked to leave by an employee and subsequently fired shots from a .22 Derringer as he was escorted out. One bullet struck and slightly injured the tavern employee. Gates, now facing a ten-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, will be required to serve at least 85% of his term. This case marks Gates’s first felony conviction.
