Antonio Hardy was a 33-year-old Black man whose mother described his loss as the loss of her legacy and future, including the chance to see him experience family milestones and to have grandchildren. His life was cut short on the evening of September 18, 2023, in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois.
That night, Hardy had driven to the Coopers gas station at the intersection of Sheridan Road and McClure Avenue. After going inside to pre-pay, he returned to his vehicle to pump gas. Surveillance video showed that as he was doing so, another man got out of the passenger side of a different vehicle, approached Hardy from behind, and shot him three times in the back. After Hardy fell to the ground, the assailant walked closer and fired an additional shot to his head.
Police were dispatched to the scene around 8:20 p.m. after a ShotSpotter alert detected nine gunshots. Officers found Hardy lying on his back, bleeding heavily, and began life-saving measures.
He was rushed to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in critical condition. Though initially conscious and alert, his condition rapidly deteriorated, and he was pronounced dead in the operating room at 10:40 p.m.
The investigation, aided by the clear surveillance footage, quickly led detectives to identify a suspect: Amorta I. Nelson, a 25-year-old Peoria resident. Nelson was arrested in October 2023. During an interview with police, he admitted he had been at the gas station but denied being the shooter. A grand jury later indicted him on charges of First-Degree Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon, and a judge ordered him to be held in jail until his trial.
In November 2025, a Peoria County jury found Amorta I. Nelson guilty on both charges. During the trial, prosecutors presented the surveillance video that captured the murder. At the sentencing hearing on December 17, 2025, the assistant state’s attorney called the killing an "execution," made more senseless because the reason for it may never be known.
Chief Judge Katherine Gorman noted that Nelson had opportunities to improve himself but instead chose a path of violence that could not be tolerated. She sentenced Nelson, then 27, to a total of 73 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, consisting of 63 years for the murder and a consecutive 10-year sentence for the weapons offense. The case was closed as of December 2025.
