Ludlow man sentenced 14 years in prison for possessing body armor, gun ammo

Apr. 8—URBANA — A Ludlow man was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday for unlawfully possessing firearm ammunition and body armor last year.

Champaign County Judge Roger Webber handed down the sentence to Dakota M. Spears, 27, after a jury convicted him on Feb. 14 of one count of possessing firearm ammunition as a felon and one count of unlawfully possessing body armor.

Spears was arrested in October after Champaign County sheriff's deputies found those items during a court-authorized search of a garage in Ludlow that Spears was sleeping in. With previous felony convictions, Spears is not allowed to have body armor or ammunition.

Police were investigating Spears' connection to a shooting that took place in Ludlow around 2:45 a.m. Sept. 30, a sheriff deputies' report said.

In that incident, a man told police he had seen a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt looking into vehicles in Ludlow. When the man went to confront the individual, the offender took off running and fired a gun two times in his direction. Officers found two 0.38-caliber shell casings in the area.

During their investigation, detectives located a Snapchat post that showed Spears riding a motorcycle while wearing a bulletproof vest and displaying what appeared to be a black handgun.

Spears was later charged Feb. 12 with aggravated discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle and possessing a firearm as a felon in connection to the shooting, but the two charges were dropped Thursday following his sentencing.

Assistant State's Attorney Brooke Hinman called a detective with the Champaign County Sheriff's Department, Cory Christensen, to the stand. Christensen said he reviewed Ring-doorbell footage from the house of the man who confronted the shooter on Sept. 30.

On the day after the shooting, Spears rang the doorbell and, when it went unanswered, Spears said he heard that word was going around that he was tied to the incident but that that wasn't true.

Christensen said another detective spoke with an inmate at the Champaign County Jail who was a cellmate with Spears. The inmate said Spears shared that he was responsible for the shooting in Ludlow and had used a 0.38 handgun.

Recommending Spears be sentenced to 20 years in prison, Hinman argued that someone does not possess body armor unless they anticipate putting themselves or others at risk, and Spears' self-admitted use of methamphetamine was fueling escalating behavior.

She cited two previous theft cases and a misdemeanor conviction for unlawful use of a blackjack knife.

Spears' defense attorney, Katty Sievers, recommended that her client be sentenced to the minimum of 10 years in prison.

Questioning Christensen, Sievers pointed out that police found 0.22 caliber ammunition in the garage, not 0.38. They also never found the firearm, ski mask or flashlight they were looking for in connection to the shooting suspect.

Sievers argued that Spears used the body armor for self-protection, from people he said had threatened him before — no evidence indicated he used it offensively. She also noted that his behavior has turned around since being incarcerated and breaking his drug addiction.

"I can't seem to get ahead, and a lot of it is my own fault, and I take responsibility for that," Spears said to the judge.

"I do need help in certain areas, and that's what I want, and I don't think that a 20-year prison sentence is going to do that. It's just going to put me back," he continued. "I'm going to lose a lot of my support group. It's detrimental. I truly believe that I need something like rehab to get back on my feet."

Webber said evidence tying Spears to the shooting was a mixed bag, in part because witnesses provided police varying descriptions of the shooter. The judge also acknowledged that Spears has had a difficult childhood with a brain injury and abuse.

But Webber noted Spears was convicted of possessing ammunition and body armor while on probation for theft. Spears previously described having "caught a case," which indicated he didn't take responsibility for his actions, the judge said.

Spears faced six to 30 years in prison for possessing body armor as a felon, a Class X felony. He must serve at least 50 percent of his sentence and was given credit for 184 days already served.