Taniskia J. Morning and Javaar D. Underwood Charged with Firearms Violation

MURPHYSBORO —Jackson County State’s Attorney Joseph A. Cervantez announced today that Taniskia J. Morning, age 44, and Javarr D. Underwood, age 18, both of Carbondale, Illinois, were arrested and charged with multiple weapons charges as a result of the execution of a search warrant at Morning’s Carbondale Residence on March 30, 2022.

Members of the Carbondale Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at Ms. Morning’s residence in Carbondale as part of an ongoing firearms investigation. Items including four (4) firearms were located within the residence resulting in the arrests of Morning and Underwood.

Morning is charged with Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Class 3 Felony, among other charges. If convicted, Morning faces a mandatory sentence of two (2) to ten (10) years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Underwood is charged with Unlawful Possession of a Stolen Firearm, a Class 2 Felony, among other charges. If convicted, Underwood faces up to seven (7) years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Both are being held in the Jackson County Jail. State’s Attorney Cervantez requested bonds of $250,000 for Morning and $100,000 for Underwood. Cervantez explained that local law enforcement agencies have been making great strides against gun crimes. We are all working together in order to get illegal firearms off the streets.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for April 19, 2022.

State’s Attorney Cervantez emphasizes that “an information is not evidence of guilt, and that defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which his office has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”