Kernan shooter to be resentenced Aug. 29 after FOID card charge dropped

A Kernan man convicted of shooting at his ex-boss but not injuring him will be resentenced Aug. 29, although Steven Shelly might not get much time off his original sentence.

Shelly, 30, was sentenced to four years in prison for aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card. He was charged for firing multiple shots outside his home Feb. 5, 2021. Shelly said it was self-defense, but the jury rejected that.

An appeals court didn’t agree with the argument, either – Shelly’s firearm conviction and four-year sentence were upheld – but the 3rd District Appellate Court threw out his possession count. Shelly argued that prosecutors needed to show he knew his FOID card was revoked. The appeals court agreed.

It once was necessary only to show that a suspect possessed a gun and the FOID card was revoked. At the time of the appellate ruling, La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro thought the appeals court got it wrong.

“It’s next to impossible to prove what’s in someone’s mind,” Navarro said at the time.

Navarro asked the Illinois Supreme Court to review the ruling. The state’s top court later denied his bid for appeal.

With that settled, Shelly appeared Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court, where La Salle County prosecutors formally threw out the possession charge. By agreement, attorneys asked to have Shelly resentenced.

Shelly finds out Aug. 29 whether the appellate ruling will result in any early release from prison. The controlling charge was, and remains, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and that carries a minimum four-year sentence.

Barring a reduction in sentence, Shelly is scheduled for parole in early March 2025.