Prison for felon with a gun who fled traffic stop

Aug. 3—URBANA — An Urbana man with a prior felony conviction who was convicted of possessing a gun and running from police was sentenced last week to eight years and eight months in prison.

Judge Roger Webber agreed to recommend Isaiah Dean Jenkins, 29, who last lived in the 1600 block of North Lincoln Avenue, for drug treatment while he is serving his sentence. He was given credit for 455 days already served.

A jury convicted Jenkins in May of aggravated unlawful use of weapons by a felon and obstructing justice in connection with an April 28, 2022, traffic stop that an Illinois State trooper conducted on Jenkins on Bradley Avenue near McKinley Avenue in Champaign.

Seeing and smelling cannabis in his car, Lt. Mark Holley asked Jenkins to get out of the car so he could search it. Jenkins got out but sprinted to the south. As other police officers pursued him, Holley found a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol hidden behind the driver's door armrest.

Jenkins was caught 45 minutes after he ran about a half-mile south of the traffic stop.

With a previous conviction for robbery, Jenkins was not supposed to have a firearm.

In light of the sentence imposed by Webber, Assistant State's Attorney Joel Fletcher agreed to dismiss a less serious felony of resisting a peace officer that allegedly happened in December 2021.