Bond set for man in Antioch police confrontation
An Antioch Township man who authorities say was at the center of multiple confrontations with police Wednesday was ordered held in Lake County jail on $100,000 bail.
Judge Jacquelyn Melius ordered Jordan J. Huff, 37, to avoid drugs and alcohol, submit to random drug testing and not possess any weapons should he post the required 10 percent of his bail and be released from jail.
Huff is charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding police, criminal damage to state supported property, and resisting a peace officer after a confrontation with Antioch police at 6:30 a.m.
If found guilty, he could be sentenced up to a maximum of three years in prison. Melius appointed a public defender for Huff, who said in court that he was unemployed.
The high cash bond was due to Huff's past criminal record and public safety concerns, she said.
Gurnee police arrested Huff after authorities found him unconscious in a car driven by Makell Meyerin, 31, who was later fatally shot by police after ramming a fire department vehicle and brandishing a long-barreled firearm.
The chain of events started when Antioch police received a solicitor complaint from a resident claiming a man and woman were knocking on doors and asking for money. Officers arrived in the 400 block of Donin Drive and found a white Volkswagen convertible with Huff behind the wheel.
Huff ignored police requests to stop and rammed a squad car while leaving, authorities said.
Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot from the car, and a long-barreled weapon was spotted in the vehicle before it sped off.
The vehicle was later spotted at a house on the 40500 block of Route 83 in Antioch Township, where a police standoff took place for several hours. Before police arrived, Huff and Meyerin ran off and picked up a white Prius from a family member and left the scene, police said.
Gurnee police were later sent to Harper and Gould streets, where Meyerin and Huff were asleep in the car at a stop sign.
Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said officers noticed that Huff displayed overdose symptoms in the passenger seat.
Paramedics arrived and attempted to talk to Meyerin, but she sped away and struck a Gurnee Fire Department vehicle.
Officers followed the Prius to Chittenden Park, where it crashed. Police said Meyerin ran onto southbound Route 41 and was waving the gun with a rifle-style barrel. Covelli said officers tried to negotiate with Meyerin before shooting her.
The officers have been placed on administrative leave - typical in a police-involved shooting.
Huff was treated at a hospital and released into police custody, Covelli said. Huff is due back in court June 12.