Judge: Teen charged in Sterling Pizza Ranch shooting fit to stand trial

MORRISON – A Rock Falls teen charged with attempted murder in connection with a Nov. 6 shooting at Sterling’s Pizza Ranch has been found fit to stand trial.

Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman made the ruling Friday morning, allowing the case against Harrison Webb, 18, to proceed toward trial.

The court ruled in January that there was a need to determine whether Webb was fit to stand trial, with an evaluation ordered. That evaluation was completed by Dr. Jayne Braden and submitted to the court.

Webb is charged with one count of attempted murder, one count of aggravated battery with a firearm and two counts of burglary. He stands accused of walking into the restaurant’s kitchen about 7:45 p.m. Nov. 6, pulling a gun from the front pocket of his shorts, walking up behind a 17-year-old worker who was preparing pizza pans and shooting him in the neck.

If he is convicted, Webb, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, could spend anywhere from six years to life in prison.

Prosecutors have said that Webb and the wounded employee, also a Rock Falls 17-year-old, had ongoing issues with each other. The teens’ dispute boiled over on social media the morning of Nov. 6 while both teens were part of a Snapchat message group. Prosecutors said Webb walked from his Rock Falls home, crossed a bridge into Sterling and continued walking to Pizza Ranch at 3900 E. Lincolnway.

People were eating in the restaurant as he walked in and headed to the kitchen, where four employees were working, Whiteside County State’s Attorney Colleen Buckwalter said at a November court hearing, adding that a surveillance camera shows the shooter walked up behind the victim, saying “That’s what you get,” and shooting him from 18 inches away. The bullet entered the back of the victim’s neck and exited through the front. The victim was taken to CGH Medical Center in Sterling, treated and released.

The shooter left the restaurant and was believed to have fled into a nearby cornfield. Webb was arrested at 12:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, when a warrant issued in Whiteside County court that morning was served at his home.

If convicted, Webb faces six to 30 years for attempted murder and would have to serve 85% of the sentence under state law. That could be enhanced to add 25 years or up to life in prison. The aggravated battery with a firearm charge, which also is a Class X felony, carries the same potential sentence of six to 30 years with 85% to be served. The burglary charges carry sentences of three to seven years in prison.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. April 23, with a jury trial set to begin at 8:30 a.m. May 13 in Whiteside County Circuit Court.

Webb will remain detained in the Whiteside County Jail.