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MG man in custody after 5-hour standoff

A Mulberry Grove man wanted on battery charges for an incident in rural Fayette County was taken into custody late Sunday evening after a five-hour standoff with four law enforcement agencies.
Randy J. Bone, 33, made his first appearance in court on Monday, with Fayette County Resident Circuit Judge Don Sheafor ruling that there was sufficient evidence to charge Bone with aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon and domestic battery with bodily harm.
Information filed on Monday allege that Bone threw a hunting knife that struck a family member and that he also struck a family member in the mouth.
Sheafor set Bone’s bond at $25,000 and set his first appearance in court with his attorney, Public Defender Ed Potter, for 11 a.m. on Sept. 20. A preliminary hearing is also scheduled on that date.
Aggravated battery is a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $25,000, and the domestic battery charge is a Class A misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 364 days in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.
Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray said that the charges stem from an incident on the west side of Fayette County, and that Fayette County Sheriff’s Office deputies were searching for Bone when a city officer saw Bone’s vehicle at his residence on Lake Street at about 6 p.m.
City officers attempted to get Bone to come out of the house, and were told that he would not do so.
While a county deputy was meeting with Fayette County State’s Attorney Joshua Morrison to arrange for a search warrant, city officers, along with Ray and Fayette County Sheriff Chris Smith used a public address system to ask Bone to exit the residence.
Ray said that about 7 p.m., he asked for assistance from the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System tactical team, which is made up of officers from throughout the region.
The ILEAS officers arrived in town and met at the city garage to put together a plan for the incident, then traveled to the scene, where they used the PA system to ask Bone to come out of the house.
After there was no response, the ILEAS team broke a window in the residence in an attempt to get a response from Bone. After that failed, they deployed four chemical agent devices into the residence, at which point, Bone exited the home, Ray said.
He was taken into custody at about 11 p.m., Ray said.
Law enforcement personnel at the scene included five city officers, including Ray; six from the sheriff’s office, including Smith; three Illinois State Police officers; and 15-20 ILEAS officers, Ray said.
An ambulance was on standby near the residence, and the Vandalia Volunteer Fire Department was called to ventilate the residence.

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