Spring Valley man convicted of firing July 6 shots at Peru residence

A Spring Valley man was convicted Wednesday of firing shots at the Peru home of his estranged girlfriend, missing the numerous occupants, though a man was hurt fleeing the scene.

Semaj S. Jones, 34, faces 4-15 years in prison when he stands for sentencing Dec. 21 before Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr., who presided over a three-day jury trial. A jury deliberated two hours Wednesday and returned guilty verdicts on two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Jones, who was masked, had no discernible reaction when the verdict was read. His lawyer, public defender Tim Cappellini, deferred comment until sentencing. Prosecutors thanked the jury and praised both the Peru and Spring Valley police departments for “a very efficient, coordinated investigation.”

“The victims in this matter, I’m sure, will be very satisfied when we inform them of the verdict,” said Matt Kidder, assistant La Salle County state’s attorney.

Jones was charged late July 6, hours after his estranged girlfriend sent for police after hearing gunshots outside the Peru house into which she had just moved after breaking up with Jones.

“Something in my gut told me it wasn’t fireworks,” testified Jacquelyn Guynn, who immediately ushered her children into a bedroom.

A day earlier, Guynn had begun moving out of the Spring Valley home she had shared with Jones. Guynn testified she specifically avoided telling Jones where she was moving to ensure a “cooling off” period, as he was angered at her departure.

Guynn didn’t see any shots fired and neither did the Peru man who let her move in. Joshua Bell had testified he was sitting outside his Peru home enjoying a beer and a cigarette around 10:15 p.m. July 6 when a dark figure approached.

“I heard gunshots and I took off running,” said Bell, who wasn’t struck with a projectile but who did sustain any injury falling down a nearby ravine.

Peru police developed Jones as a suspect and Spring Valley police later retrieved a .40-caliber pistol from a garage located not far from Jones’ home. Ballistics testing later showed the pistol matched a shell casing recovered at the scene.

At trial, Cappellini tried to spotlight the fact nobody saw Jones pull the trigger and that police seized no DNA, fingerprints or gunshot residue to tie Jones to the gun or the scene.

“You can’t convict him of these charges just because you think he was a bad father or a lousy partner,” Cappellini told jurors at closing arguments.

But Kidder told jurors that linking the gun to Jones was a simple matter of connecting a few dots. Jones had sent Guynn a series of text messages expressing anger at their breakup and hinting of retaliation. “You did me so dirty,” read one text from Jones’ phone. Another: “I got something real nice.”

“(The messages are) angrier and angrier and angrier,” Kidder told jurors, “and ultimately it’s, ‘I know where you live.’”

And while Jones took the stand and insisted he accepted the breakup and was nowhere near Peru on the night in question, Kidder said the evidence showed his statement “contained not one shred of truth.”

“And why did he lie?” Kidder said in closing arguments. “Because he did it.”