A 32-year-old Carpentersville man shot by police in August had a gun in his hand and refused to follow officers’ commands, according to information presented by Kane County prosecutors at a Tuesday detention hearing.
DeShawn Jones called 911 three times on the night of Aug. 28, with Carpentersville police arriving to find a Glock gun and cocaine in his apartment in the 100 block of Woodland Court, Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa Scott said. While officers were speaking to him, he went into a bedroom and obtained a second gun, she said.
There also was evidence that a gun had been fired into the living room and bedroom ceilings and bullet casings retrieved from the floor, Scott said.
Based on Jones’ actions that night, Kane County Judge Salvatore LoPiccolo said, he will be held in the county jail pending trial because it is impossible to “mitigate the real and present threat” he poses to the community and police.
Jones has been charged with four counts of armed violence, a class X felony, as well as two counts each of aggravated assault of a peace officer and aggravated assault using a firearm against a peace officer and one count each of possession of a controlled substance and obstructing a police officer.
Until Monday, Jones had been in the hospital recovering from his gunshot wounds and unable to attend the pretrial release hearing in person. He did not speak Tuesday other than to acknowledge he understood he could appeal the judge’s detention ruling. His next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17.
According to court documents, Jones told the dispatcher in one of his 911 calls that he needed help, saying, “Just come. You gotta hurry. Send them.”
Carpentersville police and paramedics initially thought Jones was suffering from a drug overdose, authorities said. But Jones declined treatment and, according to a state’s attorney’s office news release, went into a bedroom and ignored commands that he come out.
Instead, he “armed himself with a black revolver taken from a bedroom closet while in the presence of police officers performing their official duties,” the release said. “Fearing for their safety and others, officers fired upon Jones while retreating from the bedroom.”
In addition to the gun Jones was holding and the gun on the table with the cocaine, officers also found an AK-47 in the apartment, the release said.
Kane County Assistant Public Defender Marie Henning, however, gave a different account of what happened, saying at the hearing that paramedics warned officers not to go into the apartment but they did so anyway.
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Inside, they saw Jones going into the bedroom but he was not bringing out a weapon, he was putting it into a closet, Henning said.
“They … yell, ‘Gun, gun,’ without telling him to drop the gun and open fire on him,” she said.
Other than a few traffic citations, Jones has no previous criminal record, Henning said. He’s worked at the same job for 13 years, has lived at the apartment for 15 years and is the primary caretaker of his older brother, who has autism, she said.
“He is not a felon. He is a registered gun owner,” said Henning, noting that he has a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card. “He was trying to secure his guns while others were in his home. Mr. Jones was fired upon by police.”
A separate investigation into the police-involved shooting is ongoing.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.