A local man with a pattern of trouble with the law is going back to prison.

Jared M. Franke, 27, of Columbia, was sentenced Thursday in Monroe County Circuit Court following an Aug. 27 standoff in Columbia.

Judge Chris Hitzemann, Monroe County’s resident judge for Illinois’ 24th Judicial Circuit, delivered a  sentence of 6.5 years in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility.

Franke will only be required to serve 50 percent of this term, which will be followed by a mandatory supervised release period of six months.

Franke was also given credit for 214 days of time served at Monroe County Jail and an Illinois Department of Public Health mental health facility – resulting in just shy of three years remaining following Thursday’s hearing.

In December, IDPH questioned Franke’s psychological state and his ability to stand trial.

Franke was remanded to IDPH custody in January, and he returned to Monroe County Jail following a March 11 order in which IDPH found he was fit to stand trial.

Following his return to Monroe County, Franke’s March 24 court appearance was scheduled as a detention hearing, but that was continued to March 26, as it was announced by Monroe County State’s Attorney Ryan Webb that his office and Franke have been “working toward a resolution for the whole case.”

The negotiated plea was accepted Thursday, with Franke pleading guilty to one count of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. 

Charges of aggravated assault of a police officer, resisting arrest, possession of a stolen firearm, theft and a separate weapon possession charge were all dismissed.

Franke had originally been charged with three weapons counts (one gun, two knives). 

Per court documents, Franke pled guilty to possessing a “gut hook knife with a blade in excess of three inches.”

Many states specify a criminal threshold for a concealed blade measuring three inches or longer. 

During his most recent incarceration in Monroe County, Franke filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois citing “prison conditions.” 

The filing, submitted in early September, was dismissed Oct. 10 following a Sept. 3 order instructing Franke to submit a $405 filing fee. 

The documents in those filings were “returned as undeliverable” several times during Franke’s attempt to file the complaint.

After that complaint was dismissed, Franke submitted a hand-written letter to the Monroe County Circuit Clerk’s Office which was entered into the official record on Nov. 20.

In the letter, Franke demanded either to be released on his own recognizance or to have all charges dropped besides a misdemeanor charge, which he stated he would accept and pay restitution.   

In the letter, Franke said he would not accept any offer that included prison or any other form of incarceration.

In this letter, which was addressed to Webb, Franke expressed a desire to “leave this county and state, as I am moving to Los Angeles either way.”

The letter further stated Franke would not accept parole, probation or any other conditional release.

Franke argued his release would help Art Morris, who was serving as public defender for Monroe County assigned to the Franke case.

“Let’s save Art Morris  a headache, and let him save the slow and poor people,” the letter began. “Please quit treating me like a mental case! I am calculated!!” Franke wrote elsewhere on the paper.

A few weeks after that document was filed, Franke was taken into custody by IDPH.

Following Thursday’s sentencing, Franke was transported to an IDOC facility Friday morning to serve the remaining three years of his sentence.

He is currently in custody at Menard Correctional Facility in Chester.

Franke had recently served concurrent terms at Menard for aggravated battery (public place) and possession of methamphetamine. He was taken into prison custody on Nov. 11, 2022, and paroled on June 13, 2024.

Franke is eligible for parole on the most recent charge in November 2028, and his “projected discharge date” is currently listed as May 24, 2029.