A jury of 12 Henry County residents found Daylon Richardson guilty of the murder of Knox County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nicholas Weist today. The jurors deliberated for about three hours before coming to a unanimous guilty verdict, and the jurors agreed that State’s Attorney Catherine Runty proved that Deputy Nicholas Weist was acting within his official duties as a peace officer. The family, friends, and work-family of Deputy Nicholas Weist endured heartbreaking images, audio, video, and testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday. They saw Deputy Weist hit by the car. They saw the picture of Deputy Weist after he was thrown 127 feet from the point of impact. They heard Deputy Weist on the radio with Knox County Dispatch indicating he had deployed the stop sticks. They also heard the silence when Deputy Weist couldn’t answer a status check. Daylon Richardson is facing a sentence of up to natural life in prison.
Henry County State’s Attorney, Catherine Runty, told RegionalMediaNews.com: “Today, Henry County jurors returned guilty verdicts in the case against Daylon K. Richardson. Mr. Richardson was charged with the murder of Knox County Deputy Nicholas Weist on April 29, 2022, and was found guilty of two counts of Murder, a Class M felony. The sentencing hearing is set for May 24, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. We extend a heartfelt thank you to all the agencies that responded to the incident, and assisted in this case. Our thoughts today are with Deputy Weist’s family as we continue to seek justice on their behalf.
Attorney Bruce Carmen said in his closing statement, “There are some things an officer does that are not official.” In her counter statement to Attorney Bruce Carmen, State’s Attorney Runty said, “I’m not sure how much more official duties get than stopping a fleeing vehicle.” Defense Attorney Bruce Carmen told the jury in his closing statement that Daylon Richardson had one and a half seconds from the time he left the roadway until he struck Deputy Weist. “He didn’t have time to form an intent to kill.” State’s Attorney Runty countered, “He had 12 minutes to make a decision.” Attorney Carment told the jury that Daylon Richardson lost control of the vehicle and didn’t intend to kill anyone. The accident reconstructionist, Sergeant Kuhn, said, in his opinion, that Daylon Richardson was in control of the vehicle. State’s Attorney Runty said Mr. Righardson could have made it around the stopsticks. She said he didn’t have to turn back left onto the roadway, “he made that choice.” She continues that we saw the Galesburg police officers drive around the stop sticks in the dash cam footage from Deputy Weist’s police vehicle. State’s Attorney Runty said the wheels of the Ford Taurus turn right, “Guess what else was to the right? Deputy Weist.” She said Richardson didn’t continue driving to the left to go around, he turned right. State’s Attorney Runty said that Daylon was in control of the vehicle for 12 minutes, “until something got in the way.”
Attorney Bruce Carmen said that Daylon Richardson’s brain was in “pure fight or flight that morning.” Attorney Carmen said Daylon was driving 100 mph, he hit the gravel and grass, saw the stop sticks, and realized he was going to crash. He attempted to correct, “but he lost control.” He said Mr. Richardson didn’t wake up and intend to kill someone. He said that Mr. Richardson shooting out the window has nothing to do with the charges today. “The State wants to dirty up Daylon Richardson” by including the shots fired in the trial. “It’s a bad reckless homicide, but it’s reckless homicide, not murder.”
Understandably, Daylon Richardson’s family was impacted by the verdict as well. After being handcuffed, Daylon Richardson looked at Deputy Nickolus Weist’s family and said, “I hope you’re happy.” Daylon’s parents told him not to say anything and “don’t give them a reason.” Judge Kauzlarich gave a stern warning about outbursts in the courtroom, which she warned everyone about before bringing the jury back in and reading the verdict. Judge Kauzlarich said, “You are guests in my house” and “You follow my rules.” “If you don’t like you, you don’t have to be a guest. Am I Clear?”
Deputy Nicholas Weist was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Daylon Richardson on April 29, 2022, as he was deploying stop sticks on Highway 150 and 150 North Avenue, south of Alpha. Daylon Richardson was fleeing from Galesburg police officers for displaying a gun at a gas station on Henderson Street in Galesburg. As he was fleeing from Galesburg Police, Richardson displayed a handgun out of the sunroof and later shot at police during the pursuit. The gun, a loaded magazine, and three shell casings were recovered from the accident scene. Daylon Richardson pleaded guilty to Possession of a firearm by a felon (Class 2 Felony) and Aggravated Fleeing to Elude (Class 4 Felony) on October 23, 2023.
