A 55-year-old Chicago man has been arrested on a warrant issued in Marion County 11 years ago for a New Years shooting at a Centralia bar.
Marion County prisoner transport returned James Staples from Chicago on the 2015 warrant for aggravated battery with discharge of a firearm issued in connection with the New Years Day shooting of Sergio Salter of Centralia at Arizona Joes.
Police reports indicate Salter was hit once in the neck by a gunshot. He was taken to SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia for treatment.
Staples was never located and the warrant was issued based on witness accounts of the incident. He also faces another warrant issued in connection with a pending 2013 case for aggravated battery to a police officer for allegedly shoving a Centralia Police Officer. Bond on the warrant charging the weapons offense was set at $250,000. Bond on the aggravated battery to a police officer charge was set at $100,000. Staples was able to post a total of $35,000 cash bond to be released on both charges.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Department of Corrections website indicates Salter is currently serving an 18 year prison term for meth delivery handed down in Bond County. He has also been ordered to serve other state prison terms in the years following the shooting.
Staples is due in court for a preliminary hearing at eleven Tuesday morning.
