Carnival worker gets 8 years in St. Charles murder

A St. Charles carnival worker accused of murder pleaded guilty Thursday to a lesser charge and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Willie L. Wimberly, 56, admitted in Kane County Circuit Court to throwing a single punch in a Sept. 21 fight that resulted in the stabbing death of 28-year-old Naromi N. Mannery of St. Charles. He pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and was sentenced under a plea deal approved by Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon.

"For throwing one punch ... eight years is the appropriate sentence," Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams said.

Mannery was fatally stabbed after he arrived at a bunk house for Windy City Amusements carnival workers on the 900 block of West Main Street in St. Charles and refused to leave.

Sams said Wimberly threw the first punch, but it was Wimberly's co-worker Arthur Manning, 58, who grabbed a knife and inflicted the fatal injuries.

By statute, Wimberly must serve at least half of the sentence, meaning he could be released from prison in as few as four years. His criminal history includes multiple battery, robbery and drug-related convictions.

Last week, a jury convicted Manning of first-degree murder. He faces up to 60 years in prison at sentencing April 22.

A third carnival worker, Guy Manning, 51, who is Arthur Manning's brother, remains charged with first-degree murder. His next court date is March 26.