By RODNEY HART

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

A former homeless Quincy man already in prison for stealing a vehicle has been indicted for the October murder of another homeless Quincyan.

Clarence E. Starks, 47, is serving an eight-year sentence for stealing a vehicle last October in Quincy. He was indicted by an Adams County grand jury May 1 and the indictment was returned to him today at the state prison in Dixon.

John Kelley's death was officially ruled a homicide by an Adams County coroner's jury in February. His body was found Oct. 27 in an abandoned Quincy residence. A Peoria forensic pathologist determined the cause of death was strangulation.

State's Attorney Jon Barnard said he is not sure when Starks will return to Quincy for a first court appearance. Starks has a long criminal history, including a previous murder conviction, Barnard said.

The indictment alleges Stark murdered Kelley in 530 N. Sixth on Oct. 7. Stark's bond has been set at $1 million.

Court records show Starks was convicted of murder in Adams County in 1985 and sentenced to 40 years in prison, serving about 20 years. He previously had battery and indecent liberty with a child convictions.

Kelley's decomposing body was found wrapped in a blanket in the basement apartment of 530 N. Sixth by a caretaker, who said there was blood in the closet where the body was found. There was also evidence the body was dragged down a hallway before being put in the closet.

Investigators waited for DNA results to determine if blood found in the apartment belonged to Kelley, and for other lab analysis of evidence.

Kelley's body was found wrapped in blanket, and he had several broken bones in his neck area. A pair of shoes was recovered from the scene believed to belong to Kelley.

Kelley, 50, lived off and on in Quincy for several years and had likely been in the house for some time when his body was found.

The house has been abandoned for several years, and neighbors said homeless people have been seen coming in and out.

Kelley's body was identified by a fingerprint match at the Illinois State Police crime lab in Springfield. The body had decomposed.

Friends and family of Kelley said it was not unusual for him to go missing, and he had issues with substance abuse and with the law in recent years.

Starks was charged Oct. 8 with driving with a revoked license, aggravated fleeing, driving under the influence and vehicle theft after a truck he was driving crashed near the corner of Broadway and Bonansinga Drive.

Starks pleaded guilty Oct. 31 before Judge William Mays of the theft and driving with a revoked license charges in exchange for an eight-year prison sentence.

Stark was arrested after a pickup truck was reported stolen from in front of a business in the 100 block of North Fifth. The owner had left the keys in the ignition, police said.

A citizen reported the vehicle heading north on Fourth Street and onto U.S. 24 before it turned west on Einhaus Lane. Quincy police officer Adam Gibson said he stopped the vehicle at Einhaus Lane and Bonansinga Drive, but the vehicle fled south.

The vehicle went through the intersection of Broadway and Bonansinga Drive, plowed through a hedge and a metal railing in Clat Adams Park, and came to rest several hundred feet south of the intersection on the railroad tracks.

-- rhart@whig.com/221-3370