Danville Alderman Jaleel Jones, 30, was arrested on Wednesday night, November 11, after police responded to a report of gunshots in the area of Fera and English Streets in Danville, Illinois, and found evidence that shots had been fired recklessly, the Danville Police Department said in a news release reported by WCIA. Jones represents Ward 1 on the Danville City Council.
Source: WCIA, Nov 12, 2026 (reporting Danville Police Department)
In the news release, Deputy Chief of Police Doug Miller said officers who arrived in the area found Jones outside a car parked inside nearby Springfield Hill Cemetery. Jones was arrested and preliminarily charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, Miller said. No injuries were reported in the police account carried by WCIA.
What was said in court on Thursday
Jones appeared in Vermilion County court on Thursday morning, November 12, for arraignment and a detention hearing. Vermilion County court records show the State's Attorney's Office filed a single count of reckless discharge of a firearm against him, WCIA reported.
It was revealed in court that when officers responded to Springfield Hill Cemetery, they found Jones sitting on top of his car, smoking marijuana, WCIA reported from the hearing. Jones claimed he had heard shots coming from the south, but officers spotted shell casings on the ground. When asked about the casings, Jones is said to have admitted firing the shots after being spooked by a deer, according to the account given in court.
Released, with his FOID card surrendered
The court granted Jones pretrial release. His conditions of release include surrendering his FOID card — the Firearm Owner's Identification card Illinois requires to legally possess firearms — and refraining from possessing firearms while the case is pending, WCIA reported. Court records do not indicate when Jones will next appear in court.
Danville police say the investigation into the Wednesday-night gunshots is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Danville Police Department at 217-431-2250 or Vermilion County Crime Stoppers at 217-446-8477.
An alderman who was himself a victim in April
The arrest comes seven months after Jones was the victim in a case that drew statewide attention. In April 2026, Jones and two cousins were night fishing at White Oaks Park in Paris, in Edgar County, when they were confronted by armed men; prosecutors later charged two men with attempted murder and a hate crime over that attack, WCIA reported at the time. Jones spoke publicly about the experience in the weeks that followed.
That history does not change the legal position in the new case: the reckless-discharge count is an allegation, Jones is presumed innocent unless proven guilty, and the account of the deer and the shell casings comes from what was said in court and in the police release, not from a verdict.
What is solid
- Jones was arrested Wednesday night after a gunshots report near Fera and English Streets, per the Danville police release
- The Vermilion County State's Attorney filed one count of reckless discharge of a firearm, per court records
- A judge granted pretrial release on Thursday with FOID surrender and a no-firearms condition, per court records reported by WCIA
What is only claimed
- Why the shots were fired: Jones is said to have told officers a deer spooked him; police describe the firing as reckless, and the investigation is ongoing
What happens next
Jones's next court date had not been entered in the records WCIA reviewed, and the police investigation continues. For Ward 1 residents, the immediate questions are practical: whether Jones continues to sit and vote on the City Council while charged — no removal or resignation was reported on Thursday — and what the court's no-firearms condition means for an official who, in April, described carrying a licensed firearm for protection. Those answers will come from the council and the court in the coming days.