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New Year's Eve in Springfield — it's like a war zone

Posted January 03, 2008 10:00 pm

Jayette Bolinski

A Sangamon County sheriff's deputy recalls shotgun pellets raining down onto the hood of his patrol car.

Springfield police officers are encouraged to keep Kevlar helmets in their cars, just in case.

Right after midnight, "all you hear is gunshots," a resident says.

New Year's Eve in Springfield - it's like a war zone, they say.

Firing so-called celebratory gunshots into the air at midnight, and apparently for hours afterward, is a time-honored tradition for some city residents. But authorities say it's illegal, and it has led to people being injured and even killed.

"People seem to think it's OK to step out and fire a weapon into the air to celebrate the new year," said Sangamon County sheriff's Capt. Jack Campbell. "In fact, it's a very dangerous situation for their neighbors, for themselves and for law enforcement in the area."

A Springfield man who stepped outside his home at midnight New Year's Eve and fired several rounds skyward was promptly shot by police officers who happened to be in the area and say they saw him firing the gun. The officers approached the man, James Wells, and ordered him to drop his 9mm gun, but they say he refused and pointed it at them.

Wells, 39, has five bullet wounds in his body - whether they were caused by five or fewer shots has not been determined - and he is in the Intensive Care Unit at St. John's Hospital.

He faces charges of aggravated assault, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm, and will be taken to jail upon being discharged from the hospital.

His longtime girlfriend, Jeannette Stapleton, says she was inside the house and never heard officers order Wells to drop his gun.

"I'm telling you, before James shot, there were so many gunshots going on. That's why the cops were here. Starting about 11:30, you'd hear them. About 10 'til, five 'til and a couple minutes 'til, they were shooting," Stapleton said in an interview Wednesday.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it as long as you shoot a couple times and stop. … He wasn't shooting at no one. He was firing straight up in the air. People do that every year. He was just ringing in the new year. He does it every year."

That's a problem, authorities say. First, randomly firing a gun anywhere in the city is illegal and can result in a person being arrested for reckless discharge of a firearm. Bullets may temporarily disappear into the air, but they have to come back down. And they can land anywhere - on a roof, a car, a child or someone's head - leading to serious damage or critical injuries.

There are plenty of examples from this week alone:

* In Denver, a bullet possibly fired to celebrate the new year ripped through the wall of a house just after midnight, killing an 11-year-old girl and a woman attending a party inside. Authorities believe the bullet was fired from a high-powered rifle from as far as 300 yards away.

* A 5-year-old boy sleeping in his bedroom in Tucson, Ariz., was grazed by a bullet fired to celebrate the new year.

* In Dallas, a 2-year-old girl suffered minor injuries when a bullet fired by a new year's celebrant tore through the roof of a mobile home and grazed her elbow.

Carline Curtis, 64, has lived at 12th and Ash streets for almost 40 years and said she's come to expect the celebratory gunfire.

"I'll be 65 years old, and honestly since I was a child I know it happens at midnight every year," she said. "I heard several gunshots north of me this year. It sounded like it was on Oak Street. I was going to call the police myself, but I thought maybe I better not because (people) are probably shooting all over town."

She said all she usually hears is "pow, pow, pow, pow, pow" at midnight New Year's Eve. This year, she counted eight to 10 shots at midnight.

"It really doesn't scare me because I'm used to it. It happens every year. It's nothing new in Springfield. The officers should know that," she said.

"I just feel bad for Mr. Wells. I don't know the circumstances, but I do know people shoot their weapons at 12 o'clock. It's just tradition. I'm sure the officer that shot feels bad, and I'm just praying that Mr. Wells pulls through. Unfortunately, this ritual or tradition happens all the time."

Campbell said he was patrolling near Wheeler Street and Capitol Avenue New Year's Eve in 1999, which was about to become 2000. He had his window cracked and heard a gun go off fairly close.

"The BBs from a shotgun round rained down on my car, so it had to be probably within that block where it came from," he said. "My patrol car had little chips in it. I could look on the hood of my car in the light and see where something sprinkled on the car.

"That's pretty typical for not only our department, but for most law enforcement people."

Springfield police deputy chief Doug Williamson said the department's supervisors try to warn officers who have never worked at midnight New Year's Eve to be prepared to hear shots fired all over the city, especially in areas that are known to be hot spots for such activity.

"It is a problem for us. We know that every year right at midnight that numerous, if not dozens, of people throughout the city go outside their residences and shoot off firearms," he said.

"With the officers, especially the new officers who've never worked New Year's Eve at midnight, we advise them that it might not be a bad idea to make sure they have their Kevlar helmets close while on patrol."

Springfield police on Thursday again declined to talk about specifics of this week's incident involving Wells and referred inquiries to the Illinois State Police, which is conducting an investigation at the request of the city police.

Lt. Scott Compton, spokesman for the state police, said, "Unfortunately, we cannot comment at this time because it is an ongoing investigation."

Campbell said it's nearly impossible to catch a person firing a celebratory shot.

"I cannot recall somebody actually making an arrest on a New Year's Eve shots-fired call," he said. "They step out and step back in, so unless somebody witnesses it, it's impossible to narrow it down."

Jayette Bolinski can be reached at (217) 788-1530 or jayette.bolinski@sj-r.com.

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