WASHINGTON COUNTY — A 42-year-old rural Centralia man was scheduled in Washington County court Wednesday for a possible plea deal this month in a case accusing him of firing shots last summer at Centralia and DuQuoin police.
(Source: ISP)
Nathan Johnson is charged with half-dozen Class X felony charges in Washington and Perry counties in connection with firing shots at police officers on an August 2018 morning in DuQuoin, and at his home on Irvington Road in Centralia.
He’s being held in jail on a combined $6 million bail — $1 million in Washington County and $5 million in Perry County.
Earlier this year a mental fitness evaluation found Johnson fit to stand trial. In court Wednesday it was agreed that a possible plea could be reached in the case before the next hearing on August 16.
Johnson is accused of taking DuQuoin police on a pursuit in which he reportedly fired shots at officers, striking the police chief’s squad car.
The pursuit continued into Centralia, where he reportedly held off officers from multiple agencies in an hours-long standoff at his home on Irvington Road.
He reportedly fired multiple shots at officers during the standoff, striking one Centralia police squad car.
Johnson ultimately surrendered and was taken into custody.