A 26-year-old man whose drive-by gunfire in southern Minnesota left a motorist permanently paralyzed has received a sentence of more than 13 years.
13-year sentence for drive-by shooter in southern Minnesota who left victim paralyzed
The victim's vehicle slammed into a building in downtown Janesville.
May 18, 2023 at 4:59PM
Devonte B. Phillips, with no known address, was sentenced Wednesday in Waseca County District Court after pleading guilty to first-degree assault in connection with the July 22 shooting that sent the victim's car into a downtown Janesville building.
With credit for time in jail since his arrest, Phillips is expected to serve the first eight years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
His accomplice, 32-year-old William C.T. Peavy, of Waseca, Minn., received a sentence of nearly four years, with roughly 2½ years of that term being spent in prison.
The charges said Phillips unleashed the volley of gunfire while Peavy drove. The charges did not reveal a motive for the gunfire.
The wounded driver, 26-year-old Khalil Billups, of Mankato, was taken by air ambulance to a Rochester hospital. The charges said a bullet was lodged in his spine and left him "a permanent paraplegic."
According to police:
Numerous 911 callers reported hearing gunfire on N. Main Street near First Street. Witnesses said the shots came from a vehicle that fled east on County Road 14.
Police and sheriff's deputies caught up with the suspects' vehicle heading toward Waseca and arrested them without incident. A handgun was recovered.
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