A Carbondale man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for firing his gun multiple times downtown earlier this year.
Jackson County State's Attorney Mike Carr says Jermaine J. Ross, 21, was sentenced Monday to the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to the charges of unlawful use of weapons by a felon and reckless discharge of a firearm.
According to Carr, at about 2 a.m. on May 12, officers with the Carbondale Police Department were conducting a foot patrol in the area of East Jackson Street.
At that time, in excess of 50 people were exiting a bar at closing time and began walking to their cars in a southeast direction. Dozens of other individuals were also congregating in the parking lot south of the lounge near the Town Square Pavilion.
As officers walked through the crowd, they observed a group of people who appeared as though they were going to fight in the southern part of the parking lot. As officers proceeded toward the group, they observed a male in a turquoise jacket, later identified as Ross, point and fire a handgun four times in a northeast direction. Ross then ditched the gun under a nearby truck and fled the area, losing his shoes in the process.
Officers gave chase and found Ross hiding stomach-down in tall weeds in a backyard in the 300 block of East Jackson Street. Officers later located a loaded .22 caliber Taurus semi-automatic pistol and four .22 caliber spent shell casings under and by the truck where Ross ditched the gun.
Ross is a felon, having been convicted of burglary in 2015 and possession of a controlled substance in 2016.
The investigation was conducted by the Carbondale Police Department. Assistant State's Attorney Andrew W. Suthard was responsible for the prosecution.
