Sycamore man posts bail in standoff case

SYCAMORE – The man who allegedly threatened police and said he’d burn his house down during a four-hour standoff posted $1,000 bail to be released before he could have a bond hearing Wednesday afternoon.

Aaron C. Johnson, of the 400 block of Charles Street, is charged with criminal damage to state-supported property, because of two holes police said Johnson put in drywall at the police station after he was convinced to leave his house Monday evening.

If convicted, he could face one to three years in prison. Police said in court records he punched one hole in the wall, then created another hole with a head butt.

That was after police said Johnson threatened officers from inside his house, which he also threatened to burn down.

A family member called authorities at 1 p.m. and police weren’t able to get Johnson on the phone for hours, until he finally spent about an hour on the phone with a detective and left the house unharmed just before 5 p.m.

Johnson was alone in the house, and no one was hurt, Sycamore police Cmdr. Mike Anderson said.

Although .22-caliber ammunition were found in the house, according to a release from the Sycamore Police Department, Anderson said no other charges are pending.

Johnson was first booked into the DeKalb County Jail on Tuesday after getting a mental evaluation at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital, and was release a couple of hours later when he posted bail. No other conditions were included on the warrant, according to DeKalb County Sheriff’s Sgt. Erin McRoberts.

Court records show that Johnson pleaded guilty to burglary April 27, 2009, in county court, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections website, an Aaron C. Johnson was paroled Feb. 19, 2015, and was to be discharged from his parole Feb. 19, 2018.

Johnson is due back in court Jan. 5.