SALINE CO., Ill. - The man who was at the center of a police standoff a few weeks ago had an appearance in Saline County Circuit Court yesterday, Thursday, April 25.
Joshua Hodge, 38 of Harrisburg, is the guy in question.
While much reference was made to the March 23 incident on social networking, very little official info came out about it. All we know at this point is that Hodge was holed up somewhere in Harrisburg on the aforementioned date, had weapons in his possession, and wasn't supposed to have them. He then is alleged to have engaged in a standoff that pretty much involved every law enforcement agency in the county. Apparently he was ultimately taken into custody, and charged with two Class 2 felony counts of Felon in Possession/Using a Firearm while on Parole.
That last little prepositional phrase - "on parole" - has changed Hodge's world back to one that's been familiar to him for a number of years: Illinois Department of Corrections, specifically Menard, where he was sent on April 9 after all the formalities of charging in Saline were done with. He hadn't successfully completed parole on his most recent charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance dating back to 2016, and the sentence structure at the time also called in the sentences (kinda like cashing in chips, only more restrictive) from two previous convictions, a 2011 Manufacture or Delivery of 1 to 15 grams of Cocaine, and a 2007 Possession of an Amount of Narcotic in the vicinity of a School, Church or Park, both of those also in Saline County.
But he was present and in custody Thursday for the prelim, at which probable cause was found based on the testimony of Harrisburg Officer Curt Hustedde, and Hodge entered a plea of not guilty.
Judge Walden Morris set a jury trial date of September 18. That likely won't happen, as a plea is probably being worked on right now that will get him only a couple more years added to his current sentence...and will save the Saline County taxpayers some coin, toting him back and forth from the west side of the state into the 'burg.