UPDATE: Clayton teen charged with first-degree murder after shooting in Camp Point street; bond set at $3 million

QUINCY — A Clayton man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection to the shooting death of a Camp Point man, and his bond has been set at $3 million.

Wyond L. Bynum, Jr., 18, made his first appearance in Adams County Circuit Court with Assistant Public Defender Sarah Lucey on Monday afternoon before Judge Zachary Boden. 

Boden read the charges to Bynum. The first count said Bynum shot Jaycob K. Rowland, 22, with a firearm with the intent to kill Rowland. The second count said Bynum, without lawful justification and with the intent to cause great bodily harm to Rowland, discharged the firearm. The third count that Bynum, without lawful justification and knowing that such acts created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to Rowland, personally discharged the firearm. All three counts are Class M felonies.

“These are three different ways of charging the same act, but they’re charged slightly differently,” Boden explained.

If Bynum is found guilty, he faces a punishment of between 20 and 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, along with a three-year period of mandatory supervised release. Boden explained that first-degree murder in Illinois must be served at 100 percent. Bynum would not be eligible for probation, and he could be fined up to $25,000.

Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Parker asked for bond to be set at $5 million. He said the charges against Bynum were a continuation of violent interaction between Bynum and Rowland.

Parker said Bynum and Rowland were involved in a “violent altercation” at the Casey’s General Store in Camp Point on July 24. Rowland was charged with aggravated battery in a public place, a Class 3 felony, and criminal damage to property, a Class A misdemeanor. Parker said another police report details that on Aug. 2, Bynum was involved in a criminal damage of property incident. 

“The reason we’re supplying these two other reports, even though (Bynum) has no adult criminal history, we do feel the reports show the defendant is certainly trending in a troublesome direction,” Parker said.

Lucey asked for Bynum’s bond to be set at $500,000. She said he’s only been convicted of a juvenile trespassing ordinance violation.

“This ‘troubling trend’ that the state is seeking is mere allegations at this point,” she said. “But for the nature of these charges, he would certainly be considered low risk.”

Lucey explained that Bynum has lived with his mother, father and brother for the past five years. He’s also the father of a 1-year-old daughter who he has custody of four days a week. She said Bynum takes medication for his mental health.

“There seems to be family support in the community and plenty of people who will be able to make sure that he is attending court and doing everything that is being asked of him to do,” Lucey said. 

“Ultimately, I believe the state’s request is outside the realm of what we usually see, even for these charges. Sadly, Quincy has had the occasion to see comparable charges in the past year. I believe that bond the amount of $500,000 will be adequate. It’s almost arguing over nothing, because $500,000 would be just as much of a jail sentence as $5 million. I believe that it would be more commensurate with the criminal history that is seen in his record.”

Boren said he considered the background between Rowland and Bynum when setting bond.

“The court is able to consider the strength of the people’s case and, according to what’s in the report, it would be strong with respect to how this was committed,” Boren said. “Now with some of the other background, the court taking that into consideration, and obviously the extremely serious nature of the charges involved, Mr. Bynum, I want to set your bond at $3 million.”

Bynum’s father walked out of the courtroom after the bond was set.

Public Defender Christopher Pratt was assigned to Bynum’s case. His next appearance in court will be Aug. 28.

During a press conference held after Bynum’s first appearance, Adams County Sheriff Tony Grootens said the shooting took place between 12:30 and 12:40 a.m. Monday in the street in front of a residence at 505 West Jefferson in Camp Point. He said three men were arrested at first, but the two men — friends of Rowland — who brought the body to the Adams County EMS station in Camp Point later were released.

Grootens said he doesn’t know how many times Rowland was shot. He said the murder weapon was recovered in the West Jefferson residence.

“The autopsy is scheduled for (Tuesday in Bloomington),” he said. “We have recovered numerous spent casings, so I can say he was shot several times.”

Grootens said Rowland was pronounced dead at Blessing Hospital. The truck driven by Rowland’s friends was impounded.

“Our guys actually stopped that truck over by Coatsburg, and they could see that it had a tremendous amount of blood in it,” he said. “They knew it was part of the equation, so they took those two into custody. … The state police are here. They’re conducting the crime scene part of it.”

Grootens said he couldn’t provide a motive for the shooting, but he said he believe his investigators “have a good idea of what transpired.”

Deputy Sheriff Pat Frazier said Bynum was taken to the scene of the crime as part of the investigation on Monday.

“We can say he was cooperative,” Frazier said.

MRN Publisher J. Robert Gough also contributed to this story.