Eyler questions decision not to jail suspect in gunfire near QU case

QUINCY — A decision earlier this week by Circuit Judge Christopher Pratt garnered a strong reaction from the first assistant Adams County State’s Attorney — who likely will be the county’s next state’s attorney.

Darren D. Caillier, 28, was in court Wednesday on a petition to deny pretrial release on charges related to an incident on Oct. 4. Witnesses said two people were asked to leave a party in the 500 block of North 18th near the Quincy University campus. After being asked to leave, the man pulled out a handgun and fired several shots into the air before leaving the scene with a woman in a white pickup.

Pratt presided over Wednesday’s hearing where Caillier heard the list of charges against him:

• Aggravated discharge of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, a Class X felony.
• Aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of another person, a Class 1 felony.
• Reckless discharge of a firearm, endangering the safety of another person, a Class 4 felony.
• Aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.

Pratt denied the petition from First Assistant State’s Attorney Todd Eyler for Caillier to serve pretrial detention in jail. Instead, he ordered him to be placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring. Caillier can travel to work and attend doctor’s appointments.

Pratt ordered Caillier to turn over weapons he owns and surrender his Illinois FOID card and conceal-carry license, as well as submit to weekly drug and alcohol testing. He must stay away from the woman who also was charged in the incident, Enedina Serna, and 500 feet away from any QU property.

Serna appeared before Judge Frank McCartney on Monday, and she is being held in the Adams County Jail. She faces the same charges as Caillier.

Eyler, who is running unopposed for Adams County State’s Attorney in the Nov. 5 election, issued a statement to Muddy River News Thursday about the situation:

“A decision like that by a judge does nothing but put our community at risk,” he wrote. “When a person walks a gun into a crowd of people, and then unloads 12 rounds, people’s lives are in danger, and letting that person out of jail continues to put people’s lives in danger.  No GPS monitor and home confinement can prevent that.  Last week, we saw where somebody was placed on a GPS monitor. Within hours of it being put on and (that person being) released, that individual cut it off and left the state. 

“That decision to release an individual who put lives at risk by firing a gun while standing in a crowd of people puts our community at risk.  That decision is consistent with the current trend to soften the punishment on crime.  That decision is consistent with the liberal left mindset that is putting the rights of the accused and criminals over the rights of victims and the innocent citizen.  That decision put our community at risk, plain and simple. 

“This is not a Safe-T Act issue. This defendant could have been detained based on the charges. In fact, when I appeared in court on Monday with (Serna), Judge Frank McCartney did just that.  He protected our community and helped keep it safe by detaining the co-defendant.  Now we have a situation where a co-defendant, who was not the shooter, was detained, and the shooter is not.  What sense does that make?  It makes no sense.  At some point, we have got to get back to common sense. Which brings me to another issue.

“Let’s be honest. The Safe-T Act at this point is nothing but verbal warfare when we are talking about detainable offenses. If a case is detainable, then all a judge has to do is say the magical words, and they can choose to detain or not detain. If you want to let somebody out, then all you have to do is say the magical words and say that there is some other condition you feel you could impose that would be less restrictive than jail and would protect the public, and you can keep somebody out of jail. The inverse is true as well.  If a judge says the right words and makes the finding, a person can be detained.

“This is why elections matter.  This is why people need to be paying attention now as to what is going on. Remember 2026, when this county will elect two circuit judges. That year is going to be crucial in deciding the people we want making decisions in terms of law and order and how we handle crime in Adams County.  In 2026, we will have the chance to elect two circuit judges, and I don’t know if that is unprecedented, but what I know is that in my 25 years of practicing law, there has never been a time quite like what 2026 will be in determining what type of community we want to live.”