Jury takes less than a day to convict Springfield man on first-degree murder charges

Zach Roth, Springfield State Journal- Register
·2 min read
Judge's gavel

A Springfield man was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday in the 2018 shooting deaths of his roommate and a friend.

A Sangamon County Circuit Court jury took less than a day to convict Jason R. Danenberger, 43, of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Thomas S. Poudzunas, 53, and John T. Buecker, 47, both of Springfield. Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin presided over the four-day trial.

Danenberger was arrested in 2018 after Poudzunas, his roommate, was found dead in their driveway in the 800 block of North Daniel on June 15, 2018. A day later, Buecker, a friend of Danenberger's, was also found dead at a mobile home in the Oakwood subdivision just off Peoria Road.

Sangamon County sheriff's deputies arrested Danenberger at a mobile home park in Riverton after Buecker was found.

More: Springfield Police investigating the death of a man found in his home as a homicide

Danenberger was represented at trial by Springfield defense attorneys Daniel Fultz of Brown, Hay & Stephens and Mark Wykoff of the Wykoff Law Office. Both took the case after a pair of attorneys at the Sangamon County Public Defender's Office – Tawnya Frioli and Michael Sullivan – left to take other positions. Frioli serves as a circuit judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes Sangamon County.

In a statement following the verdict, State's Attorney Dan Wright praised the work of the jury and law enforcement.

"The defendant has been held accountable for the senseless shooting deaths of Thomas Poudzunas and John Buecker," Wright said. "We are deeply grateful for the dedication and professionalism of the Springfield Police Department, Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Illinois State Police Forensic Science Command for a multi-agency collaboration to bring the defendant to justice."

Assistant State's Attorneys Derek Dion and Phil Maddox assisted with the prosecution.

Danenberger will be sentenced on Dec. 19 at 1:30 p.m. He faces mandatory life in prison.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield man convicted of first-degree murder in 2018 deaths