Felon faces multiple new firearm charges after Cortland standoff

CORTLAND – A convicted felon is facing multiple new firearms charges in DeKalb County after police said he refused to come out of a Cortland apartment with a gun, court records show.

Demetrious A. Howard, 25, is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of firearm ammunition b a felon, possession of a firearm without a FOID card, possession of ammunition without a FOID card and possession of an unserialized firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Howard was arrested by deputies from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office after a standoff at a Cortland apartment on McMillion Court in the early morning hours Monday, according to a police synopsis filed in DeKalb County court.

He was taken into custody at DeKalb County jail in Sycamore, where he remains held without release, records show. Circuit Court Judge Joseph Pedersen ordered Howard detained at prosecutors’ request after his first court appearance Tuesday, records show. Howard is represented by the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office.

Deputies responded to the apartment at about 1:16 a.m. Monday after a 911 caller reported a person displaying a firearm during an argument.

When deputies arrived, they spoke to two witnesses who told them that during an argument with a woman, they saw a man exit a nearby apartment with a gun. Authorities said the man was identified as Howard, according to court records.

The witnesses told deputies Howard told a woman after an argument inside the apartment, “You are lucky you’re a female or it would have been different,” records state.

Deputies said they tried multiple times unsuccessfully to make contact with those inside the apartment.

Authorities eventually entered the apartment with a search warrant and arrested Howard. Deputies also found a handgun without a visible serial number and an extended drum magazine in a bedroom closet. They also found a box of 9mm ammunition underneath a bed inside a backpack, according to court records.

A woman who also lives in the apartment told police the handgun was not hers. She is a registered FOID card owner, according to court records.

In a police interview after his arrest, Howard told deputies he knew of the handgun in the apartment, but denied having a firearm or ammunition. Instead, Howard alleged a woman was the one who witnesses saw with the handgun, records state.

Howard has a 2022 felony conviction of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon out of Winnebago County, according to court records. He also was found guilty of misdemeanor possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card in Winnebago County in 2017, records show.

It is illegal in Illinois for convicted felons to have firearms.

Howard is expected to appear for a status hearing at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 19. He has demanded a speedy trial, records show.