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A Marion County Jury deliberated for about one and a half hours Friday afternoon before finding Ricky Norwood of Centralia guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the August 2015 shooting death of Dustin Rhynes of Centralia.

Sentencing is set for June 25th. State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth says Norwood faces a maximum 20-year prison term with day-for-day good time.

The jury’s verdict came after three days of testimony and closing arguments on Friday morning.  Norwood’s earlier conviction of first-degree murder was overturned after Judge Mark Stedelin determined there was misconduct by one of the jurors.

Unlike the first trial, Charles Collins testified.  He was located as the trial began and agreed to come from out of state to testify.  Collins was believed to have been shot at the same time as Rhynes near the social service agency BCMW on East Haussler Street in Centralia.  Collins says he looked back after the gunfire and saw Norwood.

Testimony indicated Norwood’s sister had become angry at Collins and Rhynes earlier at the apartment they were visiting because they had allegedly fired shots into the air earlier on a nearby street.  She went to Norwood’s home in anger.  He had left his home by the time the gunshots that are believed to have been fired at Rhynes and Collins were heard.

In his closing statement, defense attorney Dennis Hatch told the jury that it took ten years to make an arrest for Rhynes death because the case stunk.  He noted Collins’ conviction and 15-year prison term he served for attempted murder and said all he did on the witness stand was lie, lie, lie.  Hatch also questioned why some witnesses were not called and some evidence was not tested.

Collins was found with a gunshot wound near Fireside Nursing Home, while Rynes was found the next day lying along an alleyway, dead from a single gunshot wound.   The case went unresolved until March 2022, when Norwood was indicted by a Marion County Grand Jury.

Hudspeth says this verdict has been coming for a long time for Dustin’s family and loved ones.  He says they have waited for nearly ten years to get justice for Dustin, and he’s honored to have helped deliver that justice on Friday.  Hudspeth says this case is an example of when people see bad things happening in their community, and they report those things to the police, we can and will prosecute and punish those responsible.  He concludes that with this type of cooperation, we will make our communities safe.

Hudspeth thanked Retired Illinois State Police Special Agent Jeff Kline, who led the investigation from the time of the shooting until 2018, and Illinois State Police Sergeant Travis Rinehart, who led the investigation from 2018 through the trial.  He also noted that numerous other members of the Illinois State Police and the Centralia Police Department worked countless hours to obtain the evidence necessary to secure the conviction.  Hudspeth says that without the work of each and every person involved, this conviction would not have been possible.