CAMBRIDGE, Illinois — Opening arguments took place Tuesday in the trial of Daylon Richardson, the man accused of hitting and killing Knox County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Weist.
The case boils down to one question; Did what Daylon Richardson do meet the legal definition of murder in Illinois, or did he simply lose control of his vehicle leading to Weist's death.
In April 2022, police responded to a Circle K gas station on Main Street in Galesburg after a 911 call of a man with a gun. A chase soon followed on Highway 150 north of town. Weist was setting up spike strips to stop Richardson's vehicle as it fled from a traffic stop when he was struck and killed.
Richardson has pled not guilty to all five charges against him, including two counts of murder. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
The prosecution Tuesday showed dash-cam footage from Weist's squad car of the officer laying down the spike strips. Seconds later, Richardson's car comes into frame and he strikes Weist. Weist died at the scene.
"When you arrived near Deputy Weist, what did you do?" asked Henry County States Attorney Catherine Runty to witness and Galesburg Police Office Jared Tapscott. "Checked him for signs of life," Tapscott responded. "I observed that he had sustained significant trauma to his body, checked his pulse at two different locations and found that he was deceased."
In opening statements, Runty asked the jury to find that Richardson acted with intent to kill or seriously injure Deputy Weist.
"At the end of this trial, ladies and gentlemen, after all of the testimony and the evidence, I'm going to ask you to find Daylon Richardson guilty of murdering Deputy Nicholas Weist," Runty said.
Defense Attorney Bruce Carmen argued Richardson made a horrible mistake, but is not a murderer.
"On many levels, you are going to find when you hear much of the evidence that this is a very simple case," Carmen said. "Because we don't disagree with a large portion of the evidence in this case. "The first thing and most importantly we disagree with, is why. Why the defendant's motor vehicle ended up striking and killing Nicholas Weist."
There was an emotional moment in the court room when the prosecution played the video of officer Tapscott checking if Weist was alive in the ditch. Weist's entire family began to cry in that moment. There were about 25 people in court Tuesday. However, only one of them was there for Daylon Richardson, his mother, Tiffany.
Watch more news, weather and sports on News 8's YouTube channel