JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 24-year-old Springfield man is scheduled to be sentenced today in Jefferson County court after he earlier filed an open plea of guilty to being an armed habitual criminal in exchange for a vehicle hijacking charge being dismissed.

Before filing his open plea, Shonn Bacon had been found fit to stand trial on Class X felony charges of being an armed habitual criminal and aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon. Class X felonies are punishable by between 6 and 30 years.

In December of 2017, Bacon hijacked an occupied vehicle in the Arby’s parking lot in Mt. Vernon armed with a handgun he had reportedly used during an armed altercation inside Applebee’s moments earlier.

Mt. Vernon police, who were en-route for the Applebee’s call, entered a brief foot pursuit with Bacon who exited the hijacked vehicle upon their arrival.

After initially refusing to drop his weapon, Bacon eventually complied but resisted arrest before being taken into custody.

It was determined at that time that he was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections stemming from a 2015 conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Sangamon County.