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New Year's reveler shot by Springfield police

Posted January 01, 2008 10:00 pm

Amanda Reavy

A friend of a 39-year-old man who was shot by Springfield police just minutes after midnight Tuesday said he was merely ringing in the new year with celebratory gunshots into the air and didn't intend to hurt anyone.

Police said the man, James Wells, was shot following an armed confrontation with officers outside his home in the 1200 block of South 16th Street.

Wells was taken to St. John's Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. A hospital spokeswoman later said no further updates on Wells' condition would be released Tuesday night.

Police declined to say how many times Wells had been shot or where he was hit.

Floyd Pitts, a friend whose sister is Wells' live-in girlfriend of 14 years, visited Wells at the hospital and said he had been shot four times: in the leg, chest, arm and back areas.

"He's going to make it. They did five different operations on him," Pitts said.

Meanwhile, Illinois State Police are investigating the shooting at the request of the Springfield Police Department.

At 12:02 a.m., police reported hearing multiple gunshots in the 1200 block of South 16th.

Three officers responded and soon located Wells, who police said was armed with a handgun. The officers approached and identified themselves, ordering Wells to drop the weapon. Police said Wells refused and pointed the gun at the officers, one of whom responded by opening fire.

Police said Wells could face charges of aggravated assault, reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Though he didn't see the shooting, Pitts questioned the officers' actions.

He said he had been at the home of his sister, Jeanette Stapleton, and Wells until about 11:30 p.m. Monday. He said Stapleton's six grandchildren, ages 1 through 10, were staying the night there for New Year's, and Wells had been in his bedroom for most of the night.

"He don't drink. He don't do drugs. This is a guy who's a homebody," Pitts said.

When midnight neared, Pitts said Wells got up and walked around the outside of the house to make sure no one was around. He then got his gun, which Pitts said Wells legally owns, and went into the back yard to fire the weapon at midnight.

"He went to a confined area where no one was at - no kids or nothing. The kids were inside the house," Pitts said.

After Wells fired the weapon twice, Pitts said Stapleton and the children heard another flurry of gunshots followed by Wells screaming that he had been shot.

"It really traumatized a lot of people, especially those little kids," Pitts said.

"Just like everyone does on New Year's, you have the first shots for the new year.… It's a tradition. … But man, they shot the man four times," Pitts said

Though firing gunshots into the air may be a New Year's tradition for some, Springfield police Lt. Kurt Banks emphasized that the act is illegal and dangerous.

He cited a 2004 New Year's incident in which a woman watching First Night fireworks in downtown Springfield was struck by a bullet believed to have been fired by a reveler shortly after midnight. The woman was not seriously injured.

Banks added that when officers are dealing with an armed individual, they have to act in their own and the public's best interest.

Pitts, however, contends the officers' actions were extreme, jeopardizing the safety of the children inside the house at the time.

"Even though this occurred, it still doesn't justify them to do what they've done. That wasn't professional at all," Pitts said.

"The police ride in that area. The police know all the people that's over here, and they know that there's kids there at any given time," he said of Wells' home.

The last serious shooting involving Springfield police occurred Jan. 10, 2006, when 21-year-old Jarrell W. Schofield, a Chicago-area fugitive wanted for murder, was shot and killed after he pulled a gun on three tactical-team officers who raided an apartment at 603 W. Capitol Ave. where he was staying.

Those officers were later awarded the state's Law Enforcement Medal of Honor.

Amanda Reavy can be reached at (217) 788-1525 or amanda.reavy@sj-r.com.

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