Violent Crimes Defense

Charged with a Violent Crime in Central Illinois? Ms. Williams Will Fight for You.

A violent crime charge is one of the most serious things a person can face in Illinois. Aggravated battery, robbery, and home invasion are felonies that can carry mandatory prison time, and a conviction follows you for life. But a charge is not a conviction. Many of these cases turn on disputed facts — who started the confrontation, whether you acted in self-defense, and whether the evidence actually supports what the State has alleged.

Updated September 2026

With over 33 years of legal experience, Ms. Williams has defended clients facing violent crime charges throughout Central Illinois. She knows how prosecutors build these cases, where their proof is weak, and how to hold them to their burden at every stage.

What Is at Stake with a Violent Crime Charge

The consequences reach beyond the sentence. A violent felony conviction affects employment, housing, gun rights, and — for non-citizens — immigration status. Because the stakes are this high, the quality of your defense matters from the very first day.

How Ms. Williams Defends Violent Crime Cases

Many violent crime cases come down to credibility and the sequence of events. Ms. Williams examines who actually started the confrontation, whether you were acting to defend yourself or someone else, and whether the injuries described match the charge filed. Witness identification is often unreliable, and she challenges how identifications were made and whether they hold up.

She also scrutinizes the police investigation: were statements taken properly, was evidence preserved, and did officers respect your constitutional rights? When the State cannot prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt, she pushes for reduced charges, dismissal, or acquittal.

Self-defense is a powerful and frequently available defense in Illinois. If you reasonably believed force was necessary to protect yourself or another person from harm, the law may justify your actions. Ms. Williams builds that defense with the available evidence, witnesses, and the specific circumstances of your case.

Violent Crime Charges Ms. Williams Defends

Home invasion under Illinois law — 720 ILCS 5/19-6

Home invasion is charged under 720 ILCS 5/19-6. The core of the charge is entering someone's home without authority, knowing or having reason to know that someone is inside, and then either using or threatening force against a person in the home while armed with a dangerous weapon or firearm, or intentionally causing injury to someone inside. Every one of those elements has to be proven, and each one is a place where a charge can be challenged.

It is a Class X felony — the most serious felony class in Illinois short of first-degree murder. A conviction carries a mandatory prison sentence of 6 to 30 years, and probation is not an option for a Class X offense. If a firearm was involved, Illinois adds mandatory time on top: 15 additional years when the offense is committed while armed with a firearm, 20 if it was discharged, and 25 years to life if the discharge caused great bodily harm or death.

Home invasion is not the same charge as residential burglary. Burglary is entering with the intent to commit a theft or felony inside. Home invasion turns on the presence of people and the use or threat of force against them — which is why prosecutors treat it as a violent crime and why the stakes are so much higher. Which charge fits the facts, and whether the State can prove every element, is often where these cases are won.

The full statute, including the affirmative defense and the truth-in-sentencing rule, is set out on the 720 ILCS 5/19-6 home invasion page.

The six ways home invasion is charged under 19-6(a)

Every home invasion charge starts the same way — knowingly entering the dwelling place of another without authority, knowing or having reason to know that someone is present (or remaining there after learning someone is present) — and then adds one of six acts. The State must name which subsection it is charging, and each one carries a different sentence.

The sentence column comes from 19-6(c). The "added years" are served on top of the Class X base term, not in place of it. The statute also reaches entry by false pretense: a person who gains entry by falsely representing themselves as a government or utility employee, and then commits one of the acts above, is charged the same way.

The affirmative defense written into the statute — 19-6(b)

Subsection (b) sets out an affirmative defense in the text of the statute itself. It applies where the accused knowingly entered the dwelling and remained until learning, or having reason to know, that someone was present — and then either immediately left the premises or surrendered to the people lawfully there, without attempting to cause or causing serious bodily injury to anyone present. Because it is an affirmative defense, the defendant raises it and the facts around the moment of discovery — what was known, what was done next — become central to the case.

"Dwelling place of another" includes a home you were barred from — 19-6(d)

Under 19-6(d), the "dwelling place of another" includes a home where the defendant still holds a tenancy interest — a lease, a shared title, a marital residence — but from which a court has barred them by divorce decree, judgment of dissolution, order of protection, or other court order. Having a key, or a name on the lease, does not make the entry authorized once a court order says otherwise.

The Illinois Supreme Court applied this in a Macon County case, People v. Witherspoon, 2019 IL 123092. The defendant was on bond in a domestic battery case with a condition that he not enter the complaining witness's residence. He entered anyway and was charged with home invasion under 19-6(a)(2). The court held that entering a dwelling in violation of a court order is entering "without authority" for purposes of the statute — the bond condition alone was enough to satisfy that element. Decatur is in the 6th Judicial Circuit, one of the 13 Central Illinois counties Ms. Williams serves.

Illinois Violent Crime Law

Illinois classifies most violent offenses as felonies, with the class driven by the harm caused, whether a weapon was used, and the identity of the victim. Aggravated battery jumps to a Class X felony in certain circumstances, and armed robbery and home invasion are Class X by default — meaning prison is mandatory and probation is not an option.

Firearm sentencing enhancements add a separate layer. Under the aggravated battery and armed robbery statutes, using a firearm adds a flat number of years — 15, 20, or 25 years up to natural life — that must be served on top of the base sentence. These enhancements make experienced defense critical, because the difference between charges can mean decades.

Self-defense and defense of others are recognized justifications under Illinois law. The central question is whether the force used was reasonable under the circumstances. Because that is a fact-specific judgment, the way the case is investigated and presented often decides the outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions: Violent Crime Defense

What counts as a violent crime in Illinois?

Offenses involving force or the threat of force against another person — aggravated battery, assault and aggravated assault, robbery, armed robbery, home invasion, and kidnapping. Most are felonies, and many carry mandatory prison time.

What are the penalties for aggravated battery?

Aggravated battery ranges from a Class 3 felony (2-5 years) to a Class X felony (6-30 years) depending on the harm, the weapon, and the victim. When a firearm is involved, the law adds mandatory years on top of the base sentence.

Is robbery always a felony?

Yes. Robbery is a Class 2 felony (3-7 years). Armed robbery is a Class X felony (6-30 years), and using a firearm adds 15, 20, or 25 years to life on top of that.

What are the penalties for home invasion under 720 ILCS 5/19-6 in Illinois?

Home invasion under 720 ILCS 5/19-6 is knowingly entering a dwelling without authority when you know or have reason to know it is occupied, and then either using or threatening force against someone inside while armed with a dangerous weapon or firearm, or intentionally causing injury to a person in the dwelling. It is a Class X felony, which carries 6 to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation, and when a firearm is involved mandatory sentencing enhancements add years on top of the base term. Ms. Williams defends home invasion charges in Peoria and throughout Central Illinois.

Is there a defense written into the Illinois home invasion statute?

Yes. 720 ILCS 5/19-6(b) provides an affirmative defense where the accused, on learning or having reason to know that someone was present in the dwelling, either immediately left or surrendered to the people lawfully there, without attempting to cause or causing serious bodily injury to anyone present. It is an affirmative defense, so the defendant raises it, and it turns on what happened at the moment the accused learned someone was home.

Can I be charged with home invasion for entering a home I have a legal right to?

Under 720 ILCS 5/19-6(d), a home where you hold a tenancy interest still counts as the "dwelling place of another" if a divorce decree, dissolution judgment, order of protection, or other court order has barred you from it. In People v. Witherspoon, 2019 IL 123092, the Illinois Supreme Court held that entering in violation of a bond condition is entry "without authority" under the statute. A key or a lease does not restore authority that a court order has removed.

Can I claim self-defense?

If you reasonably believed force was necessary to protect yourself or another person from imminent harm, self-defense may justify your actions. Whether the force was reasonable is a fact-specific question, and Ms. Williams builds this defense with the evidence in your case.

Can a violent crime charge be reduced?

Often. Many of these cases turn on disputed facts and unreliable witness identification. Ms. Williams holds the State to its burden on every element and fights for reduced charges or dismissal when the evidence does not support the charge.

Do you handle violent crime cases in Peoria IL?

Yes. Ms. Williams defends violent crime charges in Peoria and throughout Peoria County in the 10th Judicial Circuit. These cases include aggravated battery, robbery, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and home invasion. Cases are heard at the Peoria County Courthouse, 324 Main Street. Call (309) 999-1177 to schedule a consultation.

Who is the best violent crimes lawyer in Peoria?

Ms. Williams defends violent crime charges in Peoria courts, practicing criminal defense exclusively, and has over 33 years of legal experience. She challenges witness identification, the sequence of events, the injuries claimed, and every element the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt — from the first police report through trial.

Ms. Williams defends violent crime cases throughout Central Illinois including Peoria County, McLean County, Tazewell County, LaSalle County, and Macon County. She also handles assault and battery, weapons charges, domestic violence, and all other criminal defense matters.