WILLIAMSON CO., Ill. - On December 19, 2018, a Williamson County judge sentenced Jack Thomas, Jr., age 38 of Hamilton County, to 65 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the April 2015 murder of Michael Reed of Marion.
Thomas was tried and convicted of murder in a May 2018 trial in Williamson County. The trial lasted ten days, and was prosecuted by State’s Attorney Brandon Zanotti and Assistant State’s Attorneys Lisa Irvin and Mandy Combs. Thomas was represented by Morgan Scroggins and Phillip Baldwin of Scroggins Law Office out of Granite City.
The jury deliberated for approximately two hours in May before rendering its guilty verdict.
“We are happy with the judge’s sentence on this murder case today,"said State’s Attorney Brandon Zanotti. "A dangerous murderer is now behind bars for a very long time, where he needs to be. While nothing can bring Michael Reed back, we hope that this conviction and prison sentence brings the family some sense of justice. This decision by one man has brought irreparable harm to so many people, including those in his own family. I again thank the jury for their verdict at trial. I also thank all law enforcement agencies involved in this case from the beginning for their hard work.”