Oliver Hoffman, 19, of Canton, pleaded guilty Sept. 22 in McDonough County Circuit Court to two charges stemming from an October 2024 incident in which the Fulton County teen fatally shot four bulls in McDonough County.
He was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, with credit for time served—329 days in the McDonough County Jail.
Hoffman, who originally pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial, last week pleaded guilty to criminal damage to domestic animals valued between $10,000 and $100,000, and possession of an expired or ineligible Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. He was also fined $17,418.
As part of the plea agreement, the following charges were dropped: one count of manufacturing, selling, or importing assault weapons; four counts of animal torture, amended from the original charge of animal cruelty; one count of unlawful use of a weapon/vehicle; and two counts of aggravated assault/use of a deadly weapon.
According to reports from the Macomb Police Department and McDonough County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began as a road rage confrontation on East Jackson Street on Oct. 29, 2024. Hoffman was arrested for allegedly shooting four bulls owned by Eric McKee on Oct. 28, 2024, in rural McDonough County.
The arrest led to additional charges after police searched Hoffman’s Macomb apartment and found evidence he was manufacturing assault weapons and attachments using 3D printing technology. Authorities recovered shell casings, live ammunition, a homemade 3D-printed lower rifle and shotgun attachments, a shotgun, and two handguns believed to be linked to the livestock shooting. These items were found in Hoffman’s pickup truck following a traffic stop on Oct. 29 after the road rage incident.
Hoffman admitted to shooting the bulls, valued at $20,000, sometime on Oct. 28, according to the McDonough County Sheriff’s Department. Around 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, the sheriff’s office received a call about the four bulls that had been shot while in a pasture on North 1450th Road, just east of Bardolph. Two of the animals were dead, while the other two were mortally injured and had to be euthanized.
