Champaign man charged with guns, drug offenses will have to show his bail is from legitimate source

Mary Schenk, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read

Jun. 10—URBANA — A Champaign man charged in connection with an incident that led to the death of his friend in Rantoul on Wednesday will have to jump through some hoops before he can be released from jail.

Judge Roger Webber ordered late Friday afternoon that before Jheremia McKown may post bond, he will have to persuade a judge that his bond money is coming from a "legitimate and lawful" source.

State's Attorney Julia Rietz filed the motion for a "source of bail" hearing after Judge Chad Beckett set bond for McKown at $500,000 following his arraignment on charges of armed violence, possession with intent to deliver cannabis, aggravated unlawful use of weapons and resisting arrest.

Conviction of some of those would mean a mandatory prison term for McKown.

In arraignment court Friday, Rietz had requested a $2 million bond for the 20-year-old, calling him a "danger to the community" and the matter of his continued detention a "community safety issue."

In written support of her request for a source of bail hearing, Rietz repeated the allegations surrounding McKown's arrest by Rantoul police about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In McKown's car, which had fled from an officer in April, officers found 6 pounds of cannabis packaged for sale, two loaded handguns under his driver's seat, and $2,600 cash.

During that stop, McKown's passenger, Jordan Richardson, 18, got out of the car and ran. Police could see him with a gun in his waistband that he dropped, then picked up and continued running.

When another police officer spotted the fleeing teen and ordered him to drop the gun, he did not and reportedly pointed it in the officer's direction. That prompted the officer to fire a shot that took Mr. Richardson's life.

Rietz also pointed out that McKown has no known gainful employment but that his mother reported that he helps his grandfather in a lawn business.

After the arraignment, McKown made a phone call from the jail — which inmates are informed are being recorded — to another man with two pending weapons cases who was able to post $15,000 in cash to win his own release in February despite telling a judge he was "looking for work" and had no income.

That man asked McKown what his bond was and when McKown told him he would need $50,000 to be released, the man replied, "That's what we were expecting, we got you bro."

"It is believed that the cash found (in McKown's car) is from the fruits of illegal narcotics activity, and that there is reason to believe the defendant has access to other large amounts of U.S. currency derived from the same illicit activities," Rietz wrote.