Security guard gets probation for weapons offense, DUI in incident at Urbana hotel
URBANA IL March 29 2021— A Thompsonville man whose alcohol-fueled ramblings sparked a false report of a possible active shooter at an Urbana hotel last fall has been sentenced to two years of probation.
Elijah Bond, 23, will also have to perform 100 hours of public service and forfeit a handgun, ammunition and two knives to Urbana police as part of his sentence.
Bond pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a felony, and misdemeanor driving with a blood-alcohol content in excess of 0.08 on Nov. 16.
Assistant State’s Attorney Justin Umlah told Judge Roger Webber that about 2:30 a.m. that Monday, police received several calls, including one from Bond, about an armed man and a possible shooting at the Eastland Suites, 1907 N. Cunningham Ave.
When police arrived, they encountered Bond outside his truck in the parking lot. Police took a handgun from him.
Police learned that Bond is a security guard in Harrisburg and was in Urbana for training at a local gun range. After a day of training, he and his roommate went out for drinks then came back to the hotel and continued to drink.
The roommate got scared when Bond began making statements about active shooters and wounds, referring to topics covered in their training. When Bond racked the slide on his semiautomatic handgun, the roommate went to the lobby to get another room.
Bond, meantime, drove his truck to the front of the hotel, went in the lobby and said there was a possible active shooter, which scared two employees and prompted his roommate to break out a lobby window and flee the hotel. He went across the street, called 911 and waited for police.
Umlah said Bond, who was obviously intoxicated, told police he had shot someone, but that turned out to be false. His blood-alcohol level was 0.237, about three times the limit of 0.08 under which an Illinois motorist is presumed intoxicated.
Umlah said Bond has since been through alcohol education and was “very remorseful” about the incident.
In return for Bond’s guilty pleas to the two counts, Umlah dismissed other charges of filing a false police report, aggravated assault, and two weapons-related counts.
