Urbana man arraigned on trespassing, gun charges after hours-long standoff with police

May 9—URBANA — An Urbana man who barricaded himself inside a woman's residence during an hourslong standoff with police was charged Thursday with trespassing, burglarizing her car and battering her in a previous incident.

Assistant State's Attorney En-Chi Lin said in court Thursday that Jacob M. Hill, 36, shared a residence with a woman in the 700 block of Urbana's Sunny Lane — until she kicked him out on Tuesday.

The two allegedly met again that evening at the Eastland Suites Hotel and later separated, with him leaving first.

Hill then allegedly broke into the woman's car, stole the remote to her garage door and went to her residence, Lin said.

When the woman arrived home, Lin said, the woman found Hill in her garage, so she locked the door linking the garage to the rest of the house.

Hill then broke into the residence through a window and obtained a gun that belonged to her, according to authorities.

The woman texted a friend a series of messages saying that he had taken her gun, she was scared, she felt like she was "dying" and she didn't think it was safe for her to call.

"If anything happens to me," she texted the friend, "I need someone to know what's going on."

After the woman's friend called police, Urbana officers responded to the possible hostage situation in the 700 block of Sunny Lane around 4 a.m. and made contact with the woman.

Assisted by the METRO SWAT and Champaign Police SWAT teams, officers eventually deployed a chemical irritant agent inside of the residence, located Hill in a crawl space and arrested him.

A firearm that was hidden in a cardboard box in a bedroom was recovered.

One of the preliminary charges Urbana police arrested Hill for was unlawful restraint.

But the woman told authorities that she did not try to leave the house, Lin said.

Having tried to leave this house is a condition required for the state to follow through with the charge that would have alleged Hill attempted to hold the woman hostage.

During a separate incident last month, Lin said, Hill body slammed the same woman but police hadn't been able to locate and arrest him.

Hill was both on parole and probation at the time of this week's arrest.

He was sentenced to four years in prison in 2023 for stalking a different woman two years earlier.

He was on probation for unlawfully communicating with her via text message.

Hill wasn't allowed to possess a firearm as a result of that conviction, but between March and May this year allegedly possessed the gun that belonged to the woman whose house he broke into.

Hill faces three to seven years in prison if he is convicted of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, which is a Class 2 felony.

The state requested Hill be detained ahead of his pending trial and a hearing on that matter will take place Friday.