Urbana man acquitted of possession of firearm in October 2022 traffic stop

Sam Lisec, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·2 min read
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Apr. 26—URBANA — An Urbana man has been acquitted of charges that alleged he had two firearms in 2022 that he wasn't allowed to have due to prior convictions.

A jury deliberated for about four hours April 17 before acquitting Dontarion M. Jordan, 30, of two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon. The two-day trial took place before Champaign County Judge Randy Rosenbaum.

Assistant State's Attorney Joel Fletcher called two Illinois state troopers to the stand, including Kyle Paten, who testified he was on a routine patrol about 12:30 a.m. Oct. 29, 2022, when he saw a vehicle speeding on Interstate 74 near Neil Street and initiated a traffic stop.

Paten testified that the vehicle had three men inside, with Jordan in the back seat behind the driver. He said the men acted nervous while he conducted the stop and Jordan didn't share his name at first, so Paten called for backup.

Trooper Stephen Feurer then arrived on scene with a trained canine who indicated a "hit," so the officers had the three men get out of the car while they searched the vehicle.

Feurer found a gun under the driver's seat, the officers handcuffed the men, and Paten then found a second gun pushed under the same seat.

A technician from the state crime lab testified there was limited support that Jordan's DNA was on one of the guns, but it was extremely likely that DNA found on the second gun, a Ruger, came from Jordan. Both guns had DNA from multiple people.

Fletcher argued that Jordan had to have touched the guns, as he was the only person in the vehicle who had access to them — a metal bar prevented the driver from being able to reach them under his seat.

Jordan's attorney, Chris Tichenor, argued it is impossible to know when his client's DNA got on the guns. He said it was also possible a trooper had inadvertently transferred Jordan's DNA to one of the guns after handcuffing Jordan and then handling the gun.

Jordan faced two to five years in prison if convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon, a Class 3 felony.