BATTLE FOR I-57
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
The Eastern baseball team takes on Illinois-Urbana Champaign Tuesday in Mattoon.
After the first day of tugs, find out who advanced to the next round on Wednesday.
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Dai ly Eastern News
THE
W W W . D A I L Y E A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Man charged in connection with murder By Dominic Renzetti & Katie Smith Editor-in-Chief & Photo Editor A Charleston man was charged with first-degree murder Monday, following an alleged shooting on the city’s north side. Larry A. Steeples, 52, who’s recorded address is 207 Jackson Ave., Charleston, is charged in the death of Gina L. Giberson. Giberson’s listed address is 207 E. Vine St., Charleston, which is where investigators were seen Monday morning. St e e p l e s b o n d w a s s e t a t $500,000. Giberson was pronounced dead at 7:59 a.m. and an autopsy, which occurred at 1:30 p.m. declared multiple gunshot wounds as the cause of death. According to a press release made public by the Charleston Police Department as well as confirmation from Michael Bennett, the chief deputy coroner for Coles County, Steeples has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the connection with the death of Giberson. Steeples pleaded guilty Feb. 18 to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery and was sentenced to two years conditional discharge. In that plea agreement, a Class 4 felony charge of unlawful restraint and a Class A misdemeanor charge of domestic battery were dismissed. St e e p l e s w a s t o a p p e a r i n Coles County Circuit Court Tuesday morning in connection with an emergency order of protection granted March 18. He is also scheduled to appear in court April 28 in connection with a Class 4 felony charge of
VOL. 98 | NO. 132
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
Second ‘Barn Party’ suspect plead guilty By Bob Galuski Managing Editor | @BobGaluski
K atie Smith | The Daily Eastern Ne ws
ABOVE: Gina Giberson's home at 207 E. Vine Ave. is taped off after she after the 47-year-old female suffered mutiple gunshot wounds Monday morning. According to a press release from the Charleston Police Department, 52-year-old Larry Steeple has been arrested and charged with firstdegree murder in connection with Giberson's death. BOTTOM LEFT: Police tape marks the boundaries of gubnshot fatality victim, Gina Giberson, after her death Monday morning.
domestic battery. The information filed in court alleged that he struck Giberson in the face on or about March 16. Steeples was recently involved in an incident at Lefty’s Holler, 727 Seventh St., on March 30, where he was taken by Charleston ambulance to Sarah Bush
Lincoln Health Center after receiving a knife wound to the neck. No one was arrested at the time, but Lee H. Conover, 57, of Ashmore was later charged with aggravated battery. In Nov. 2013, Giberson and Steeples were involved in an argument on 10th Street, where
Giberson reversed her truck and backed into Steeples, causing him to fall to the ground. He refused medical treatment. Dominic Renzetti and Katie Smith can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@ gmail.com
The second suspect in connection with September’s “Barn Party” shooting plead guilty Monday to charges of resisting a police officer and driving with a revoked license. Marquis Green, 24, of Park Forest, Ill., is the second suspect in connection with the “Barn Party” shooting. During the shooting, two people suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds. Green received a combined fine of $1,500 as well as two years conditional discharge for resisting a police officer. The conditional discharge has fewer restrictions than probation. Kajaun Wright, the other suspect, also accused of resisting a police officer, plead guilty in November, where he was given one year of conditional discharge. The “Barn Party” shooting occurred in September during a party at a warehouse at 634 W. State Street in Charleston. The party ended after gunshots were heard and the police responded. The party had an upward number of more than 1,000 attendees. Phi Beta Sigma fraternity hosted the “Barn Party,” and in the wake of the shooting were suspended as a fraternity. The policies for late-night parties at university buildings were also modified. Now attendees need to purchase tickets in advance, rather than at the door. The attendees for the “Barn Party” met at the parking lot of Ruler Foods in the West Park Plaza on the night of Sept. 14. There, busses took them to the warehouse on State Street. Wright and Green are the only two suspects in connection with the shooting. Neither were Eastern students at the time of the incident. Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@gmail.com.
Tree to be planted in student’s honor By Alex Seidler Staff Reporter | @DEN_News Former student government enhancement committee chairman Nick Allen will have a tree planted in his honor on April 25 at 2 p.m. behind Old Main. The tree was donated and currently the marker is expected to cost around $75. Nick Allen recommended a tree be planted every year as a tradition of the student government. The committee just brought this idea into discussion and now the decision has been made to go through with it. Yazmin Rodriguez, sophomore sociology major, currently holds the
university enhancement committee as co-chair along with Bianca Tomlin. Rodriguez said Allen was very close to the members in student government. “We were very great friends with him as well as many others in Student Government so we decided to incorporate it with Earth week,” she said. Rodriguez added that Allen tried to get the tree planted, but struggled with funding and contacting departments around campus. Rodriguez also said their main struggle was funding as well but they managed to obtain a tree in a cheaper way. The tree was donated by the Ground Crew, which saved the stu-
“A tree is a legacy that you leave your mark on. The student government works to make that happen.” Greg Schoonover, former senate committee member dent government some money. “The funds for everything was the main issue but thankfully we had the tree donated by Grounds Crew,” she said. Former senate committee member Greg Schoonover said how the tree planting process works. “The committee used to be called the University Development and Recycling,” he said. “It has been under the previous
responsibility of the committee to have special obligation to planting a tree every year.” Schoonover said the tree planting benefits the university and grounds crew because it is cost effective and they overlap thus they get two for the price of one. He said it was a basic activity that the student government could fulfill every year, which can cost up to $200. He also said what the purpose
of a tree was. “A tree is a legacy that you leave your mark on,” he said. “The student government works to make that happen.” Nick Allen was a sophomore prebusiness management major and appointed as University enhancement committee chairman in 2012. He served as the school mascot from 2012 until 2013 and vice president of membership development for Sigma Phi Epsilon. He died from a seizure disorder in April of last year at age 21. Alex Seidler can be reached at 581-2812 or ajseidler@eiu.edu.