Man Sentenced 49 Years For Casino Queen Shooting

The man convicted of armed robbery and shooting an unarmed security guard in 2017 at Casino Queen (now known as DraftKings at Casino Queen) in Illinois has been sentenced to 49 yards in prison. 

Daryl S. Muhammad, 48, was found guilty in November. He was found guilty of armed robbery, aggravated battery with a firearm, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. 

The former two are class X felonies (the highest crime in Illinois), while the latter is a class 2 felony. 

This comes after a man died at Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada, following a shooting. 

More About the Incident 

Muhammad and three other men entered the casino in the early hours of Sept. 17, 2017. During the incident, Larry Weber, an unarmed guard and local firefighter, was shot by Muhammad. 

It took two surgeries, but Weber pulled through and returned to work. 

Additionally, one casino-goer, Brenda McNeil, was hurt after escaping over a wall, per a lawsuit filed against the casino. 

During the incident, all three men had rifles. One of them held guards at gunpoint while Muhammad and another suspect went to the cashier's cage. 

The men fled with about $47,000, which was left in a getaway car in East St. Louis. 

Muhammad, whose birth name is Daryl Russell, is the only one who has been caught. The others remain at large. 

Muhammed was arrested in January 2019 in Cobb County, Georgia, by the United States Marshal Service. 

He’ll serve at least 85% of his nearly 50-year sentence. 

State Attorney Speaks Out

“We appreciate the assistance of the Illinois State Police, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, and all the other agencies that came together to achieve this just result,” said St. Clair County State’s Attorney James Gomric in a statement. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated in St. Clair County, and this prosecution showed that. Finally, we thank the court for imposing this strong sentence.”