Suicidal Man Sentenced After Brandishing Firearm

Joliet, IL- A 39-year-old Channahon man has been sentenced to a short period of prison time in connection with last July's incident where he hid behind a trampoline and fired his gun as Channahon Police officers responded to the 2 a.m. call.

William Latham has plead guilty to unlawful use of a firearm by a felon, while a second charge was dropped by Joliet Police. Latham got sentenced to two years at the Illinois Department of Corrections and he got one year of mandatory supervised release.

According to the Joliet Patch, the defendant was drunk and reported to be suicidal. When police arrived on the scene to investigate, they found him brandishing a Colt. .45 handgun. Police became involved after he fired the gun. Last summer, Channahon Police issued a press release regarding the arrest of Latham, indicating that officers responded to the 22600 block of South Kent Road for "an emotionally disturbed man with a firearm."

According to the Patch, the Will County State's Attorney's Office noted that Latham previously served one year in the Department of Corrections in 2004 for aggravated fleeing and eluding police. In 1999, Latham was sentenced to probation for committing a burglary.

In regards to the events of July 8, 2018, "William said he was going to kill himself if we weren't going to be together," the protection order petition filed by Latham's estranged 31-year-old girlfriend from Wilmington stated.

"He asked me to come outside alone with him. Earlier William rammed my truck with his truck. William turned the gun to his chest and said he would kill himself in front of the kids if I didn't come out."

When the Wilmington woman didn't go outside as Latham requested, "he fired the gun outside. William's sister was in the living room with us and she called the police."