Matthew Johnson | Cook County sheriff's office
HAZEL CREST, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A man was charged following an hours-long standoff with Hazel Crest police Monday that started when he attacked the mother of his infant child and barricaded himself inside a home with the baby.
Matthew Johnson, 21, was charged with misdemeanor counts of domestic battery and resisting a peace officer in connection with incident, according to Cook County court records and authorities.
About 4:40 p.m., officers were called to a home in the 3500 block of Hazel Lane for a report of a possible domestic disturbance, according to Hazel Crest police.
When they arrived, responding officers learned Johnson had assaulted his child’s mother and chased her from a home in the 17300 block of Central Park, police said. After the attack, the female victim was able to make it to the home on Hazel to call for help.
She told investigators that Johnson was holding their child at the other home and warned that he may have been armed with a gun, police said.
After learning that Johnson was still inside the home with the baby and some other residents, officers were able to get everyone but him to come outside, police said. For hours, officers tried to coax Johnson out of the home using a loudspeaker. At one point, authorities even used a robot to locate him inside the home.
About 9:45 p.m. Johnson was convinced to “peacefully exit the residence” and he was taken into custody and charged, police said.
During a Tuesday court hearing, Johnson was issued a $10,000 personal recognizance bond in connection with the new charges, according to court records and the Cook County sheriff’s office.
Nevertheless, he was ordered held at Cook County Jail without bail on a warrant for a parole violation, the sheriff’s office said. He was paroled in November on an aggravated fleeing charge.
His next court date was set for March 11, the sheriff’s office said.