Channahon Man Who Fired Gun Gets Sentenced

CHANNAHON, 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 hehid behind a trampoline and fired his gun as Channahon Police officers responded to the 2 a.m. call.

William Latham pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. A second identical charge was dropped under the plea. Latham got sentenced to two years at the Illinois Department of Corrections, and he got one year of mandatory supervised release, which is also known as parole.

"Defendant was drunk and reported to be suicidal," the plea bargain states. "Officers responded to the scene and found the defendant with a Colt .45 handgun. Defendant also 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."

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.

Regarding 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."

The protection order document also stated that "there has been two other times when William has put his hands on me and I have pictures of myself with a busted lip and a black eye and a bruised ear. I am afraid for my life because William has threatened to kill me and himself too and our kids will be left with nothing."

Mugshots of William Latham via Will County Sheriff's Office