Robert Lee Sims Jr., a 37-year-old African American man from Peoria, Illinois, was found dead inside a home in the 2000 block of West Wiswall Street after Peoria police responded to ShotSpotter alerts late on April 26, 2022. The Peoria County Coroner, Jamie Harwood, reported Sims suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:34 a.m. on April 27, 2022; the autopsy concluded he died instantly from those wounds.

Investigators identified 26-year-old John Nichols III as the primary suspect. Nichols was arrested in the 2800 block of West Ann Street and booked into the Peoria County Jail, charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and resisting arrest. A second victim at the scene was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. No additional suspects were being sought.

This was Peoria’s seventh homicide of 2022. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to come forward.