Peoria Standard

A Peoria County jury has found Ronnie L. Simmons, 23, guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. The verdict follows a fatal shooting that took place two years ago in the North Valley neighborhood during a dice game. The incident resulted in the death of Demetrious Davis and left another person injured.

On July 9, 2023, Peoria police responded to reports of gunfire in the 1300 block of NE Madison. By the time officers arrived, both victims had already been transported to the hospital by private vehicle. Davis was pronounced dead after reaching the hospital.

During the four-day trial, jurors viewed body-worn camera footage from one of the first responding officers. In this footage, a witness described how Simmons lost money repeatedly during the dice game and kept leaving to get more cash to continue playing. According to the witness’s statement on video, “Simmons had been losing money during a dice game and repeatedly left the game to get more money to keep playing. On his final return, as the victims were preparing to leave, Simmons pulled a gun and tried to rob them. He then shot Davis, and when the second victim tried to disarm him, he was also shot.”

The court ordered this witness—who refused to testify or cooperate—to take the stand under contempt charges. The individual now faces possible prison time for obstructing proceedings: “The body camera footage was played after the witness refused to testify or cooperate in any way with the trial. As a result, the court held the witness in contempt and ordered him to testify. The witness now faces a contempt charge and could be sentenced to several years in prison for his obstructive actions.”

After firing shots at both victims, Simmons fled on foot but was apprehended soon after at a nearby residence where police recovered a handgun.

Expert testimony included forensic analysis linking shell casings at the scene with the recovered firearm and DNA evidence connecting Simmons directly to that weapon: “Two forensic scientists, one a firearms expert and the other a DNA analyst, testified during the trial. The firearms expert confirmed that the recovered gun matched shell casings found at the scene. The DNA analyst testified that Simmons’ DNA was on the gun.”

Sentencing is scheduled for October 1.

Peoria County schools have seen notable trends in recent years regarding student demographics and staffing levels. For example, Dunlap High School reported having 873 white students enrolled during 2022-23—the highest among county schools—while Richwoods High School led with 182 multiracial students enrolled over that period (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Lincoln School recorded an enrollment of 218 Hispanic students—the most among local schools—and Peoria High School reported enrolling 798 Black students (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Overall county data showed an average student-to-teacher ratio of 15-to-1 with over 27,000 students attending public schools (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx), while teacher absenteeism rates stood at just over 32 percent compared with statewide averages (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx).