Defendant threatens Peoria judge, faces additional charges

PEORIA — On Monday, a man accused of firing a gun into a house was ordered to be held in jail until his trial by a judge who deemed him a danger to the public. On Thursday, he faced an additional charge of threatening that judge.

Taiwand Hughes, 18, went before Judge Mark Gilles on a count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office said in a news release. In a phone call recorded from the Peoria County Jail after that hearing, Hughes said he “can’t wait to catch the judge walking out the courthouse. I’m a fire his ass up,” the release said. The State's Attorney's Office then filed a count of threatening a public official, a Class 3 felony.

“There is simply no place in our criminal justice system for threats to a judge," said Jodi M. Hoos, the Peoria County state’s attorney.

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On Jan. 26, police searched a residence in the 1000 block of West Wilcox regarding weapons-related offenses, according to a news release by the Peoria Police Department. Officers found a handgun and ammunition, as well as Hughes, a suspect in those incidents, inside the residence. Hughes was taken into custody without incident and then transported to the Peoria County Jail, the release said.