Madison County jury convicts Granite City man of 2014 murder

EDWARDSVILLE — A Madison County jury has convicted a Granite City man this evening on 2014 murder charges following a 3-day jury trial at the Madison County Criminal Justice Center in Edwardsville.  

Opening statements began on Tuesday, May 10th, 2016, in the case against Caleb R. Bailey (d.o.b. 5/3/91) who was charged with First Degree Murder on May 19, 2014.

Officers with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department discovered the body of 43-year-old Travis Mayes lying next to his motorcycle in a parking lot in the 4700 block of Nameoki Road in Granite City at approximately 3:43 a.m. on May 18th, 2014.  It was initially believed that Mayes, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had been in an accident.  However, upon further investigation, it was determined that the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head. During the course of the investigation, officers determined that Bailey and Mayes had been involved in an ongoing dispute over a female and had argued earlier that evening at a local bar.  Police believed that the two men left the bar and Bailey followed Mayes to a parking lot where he shot him.    

First Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Mudge and Assistant State's Attorney Josh Jones presented evidence to the jury over three days in support of the State’s murder charges against Bailey.  The jury received the case at approximately 3:30 p.m. before returning a guilty verdict for First Degree Murder after almost five hours of deliberations.  

State's Attorney Tom Gibbons thanked the jurors for their service. “The case was a difficult one as there were no witnesses to the actual murder of Travis Mayes. However, my prosecutors, along with the investigating and crime scene officers, and our medical personnel, including the Coroner, did an excellent job of piecing the case together to show that without a doubt, Caleb Bailey murdered Travis Mayes.”

Bailey will remain in custody at the Madison County Jail in Edwardsville where he has been held on a $2,000,000 bond since his arrest in 2014.  Sentencing by Circuit Judge Kyle Napp will occur following the completion of a pre-sentencing investigation that usually takes 6-8 weeks. Normal penalty range for a murder conviction is 20-60 years in prison.  Bailey is also eligible for an additional 25-year sentence for using a gun in the crime.  He will have to serve 100 percent of his sentence. 

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