Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / Last suspect in Ottawa gun-drug bust gets 2 years
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- 0:05Last suspect in Ottawa gun drug bus gets two years. Written by
- 0:09Tom Collins. This article is being read by an automated voice brought
- 0:14to you by Everlett. A Chicago man was sentenced to two years
- 0:19in prison Thursday for a police chase that sent Ottawa schools into
- 0:23lockdown three years ago. Shimund R. Jones, twenty eight, appeared Thursday in
- 0:28LaSalle County Circuit Court for sentencing. He pleaded guilty in 2024 to
- 0:33possession of a controlled substance, a Class IV felony carrying an extended
- 0:38sentence up to six years in prison. Why so long in getting
- 0:42Jones to a sentencing hearing? He kept getting into trouble with the
- 0:45law, four felonies across three states, and was locked up or at
- 0:50large when scheduled for sentencing in La Salle County. That was too
- 0:54much for Judge Michelle A. Viscogni to consider probation. This defendant does
- 0:59not have the most flattering criminal history, the judge said, adding quickly,
- 1:03Not the worst, but not the most flattering. Jones was charged march
- 1:08sixteenth, twenty twenty three, after a stolen vehicle sped away from a
- 1:12traffic stop in the 1300 block of LaSalle Street in Ottawa. The
- 1:16fleeing vehicle crashed into a car and the passengers fled on foot,
- 1:20sending nearby schools into lockdown. Police quickly arrested Kem R. Matthews Hill
- 1:25of Chicago, who later pleaded guilty to the stolen car and served
- 1:29part of a three-year sentence. Police also caught a minor from Chicago,
- 1:33a girl who received probation in Cook County for drugs and misdemeanors.
- 1:37Jones, meanwhile, was caught with MDMA, also known as ecstasy. He entered
- 1:42a blind plea a year later and at his much belated sentencing
- 1:45Thursday asked for probation and treatment. I don't do drugs anymore, Jones
- 1:50said when offered a chance to speak. He also apologized to the
- 1:54court and said he took responsibility for his actions. But Assistant LaSalle
- 1:59County State's attorney Ryan Cantlin argued, Jones was on probation at the
- 2:03time of the police pursuit, and he racked up four new cases
- 2:06while the Ottawa case was pending. Vescogni trimmed the state's recommendation for
- 2:11two and a half years.