WAYNE CO., Ill.—Only in Wayne County.
No, not a pic of THE Billy O. Just a funny meme, to enhance the entire post.
Billy Shelton‘s (the younger; records make no distinction) first felony offense of the year came in the form of an incident that somehow we missed when it occurred last week, but which we’re catching you up on now since most people don’t listen to what passes for a radio station there, and when they do, they end up confused…the Wayne County (de)Press(ed) notwithstanding, as they never give you a backstory (something we strive to do, and this one has a doozy).
As it turns out, a week ago last Friday, Billy, aka William O. Shelton, age 28, of Fairfield, decided to go fishing. With a gun. Meaning that he wasn’t shooting fish; he says he “found” it on the riverbank, said specific riverbank being on the Little Wabash south of Golden Gate (Pond Creek).
There, a report had been made of a gunshot victim; so responding deputies ran on down there and talked to Kelli Carpenter and Donald H. Currier (unclear if it’s the one who’s up on Child Porn charges in White County, but the likelihood is good, as that’s about the caliber of people ol Billy hangs out with), who said that “an unknown assailant” had shot Billy. However, when they were advised that lying to cops like that could land them each with Obstruction charges, they decided that storying wasn’t good, and they told the truth: that they were making up the story, because Billy O., as a convicted felon, wasn’t supposed to be messing with a gun…even if it was just to shoot himself.
Upon further investigation they found Shelton lying in someone’s yard. Upon being transported to the ER at Fairfield Memorial, it was learned that he’d been shot in the lower abdomen, and the projectile had “passed through his scrotum before exiting and lodging in his upper thigh.” Yes, Billy O. had shot himself in the nutsack…which, also, is about par for the course with this guy.
Billy told authorities that the weapon had “accidentally discharged” when he pulled it from his waistband…and here is where in the tale we learn that he also claimed to have found the .22 cal handgun riverside. We don’t know what’s been done with the gun; regular readers will recall that the .22-cal weapon used to kill Jacob Wheeler and Jessica Evans in August of 2012 was never found (allegedly it was dumped downriver by murderer Danny Coston, but you can never tell), so it’s hoped that if Billy O. DID “find” it, tests are being done on it RIGHT NOW…but, it is Wayne County, after all, home of ISP “investigator” Rick White, which needs no further elaboration.
It’s unclear whether authorities believed that, but, because of his injuries, he was not taken to jail immediately. Instead, he’s currently free on a recog bond facing a Class 3 felony Unlawful Possession of Weapon by a Felon, and just for a little umph, authorities added a misdemeanor Unlawful Use of a Blackjack/Knife to the charge.
And now, to add to the fun of the story, here’s a little anecdote Ang related to the friend who submitted this news piece to us earlier today.
I just about beat Billy Shelton when he was in 8th grade and I was a middle school teacher’s aide, circa October 1997. He was being vicious and brutal to other kids on the playground and no one would do a thing about it, so I backed him up against a wall and told him he was within an inch of getting back from me what he’d been dishing out to all the other kids. I had him in tears. He was VERY well-behaved when he was around me, after that. But I had to take on a full time job and couldn’t continue as an aide. If people would just show these kids that their bad behavior comes with consequences, they wouldn’t have the record like this punk does. Too bad. Maybe this will keep him from procreating.
And that last sentence, folks, is the upshot of the story. We don’t know if he’s ended his career as a father in the future, but we can always hope. Because as you can see by the public record, sometime bad just begets bad…and in this case, if the begetting is over, we’re all the better for it.
Billy O. Shelton is next in court (after he’s sufficiently recovered enough to sit down at the defense table) later this month: May 27.
