A Champaign man has been arrested following an investigation into a homicide on W. Springfield Avenue. Champaign Police were dispatched to the 2500 block of W. Springfield Avenue at 7:06 p.m. on July 3, 2023, for a report of a shooting with injuries. On-scene, officers located 27-year-old Marcus Catchings of Champaign unresponsive inside an apartment from an apparent gunshot wound. Paramedics responded and Catchings was pronounced deceased on the scene.
The investigation indicated that evidence of gunfire was located on an apartment door, which led to police being called. While conducting a check welfare at the apartment, officers located Catchings displaying visible signs of a gunshot wound and initiated a homicide investigation. Following that investigation, on August 25, 2023, 24-year-old William Wesley of Champaign was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia for his involvement in this incident. Wesley is now in the custody of the Champaign County Correctional Center awaiting arraignment on murder charges.
The Champaign Police Department would like to thank the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office and the United States Marshal Service for their assistance during this investigation.
Although an arrest has been made, the investigation is ongoing, and anyone with additional information is asked to please contact police at 217-351-4545. Arrangements may be made for information to be shared privately. If you wish to remain anonymous, you may also submit tips to Crime Stoppers by phone at: 217-373-8477 (TIPS); online at 373tips.com; or the “P3 Tips” mobile app.
Citizens are reminded that information submitted to Crime Stoppers is completely anonymous. Calls are routed to a third-party national call center that receives your information, completes a tips information form, and then passes the information to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Caller ID tracking is not utilized by Crime Stoppers and conversations are not recorded.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.