Streator man charged with jumping from a moving squad car held in La Salle County Jail

A Streator man charged with jumping out of a moving squad car and running from police had to be tased and also was charged with having drugs on him.

Derek R. Hornick, 46, was ordered detained Tuesday in La Salle County Circuit Court. Although he’s charged with a Class X drug felony and faces up to 30 years in prison, it was Hornick’s conduct on misdemeanor release that led a judge to hold him.

Hornick remains charged in a domestic violence case and had been released with an ankle bracelet on Oct 28, along with orders to have no contact with the victim. Despite the warnings, two violations were reported on Oct. 30 and Nov. 8 when the GPS device placed him at a restricted address.

Things came to a head Nov. 9 when Hornick was picked up on an arrest warrant. While being transported to La Salle County Jail, Hornick incurred a charge of escape for allegedly jumping out of a moving squad car. Ottawa police ordered him to stop and then tased him. He was charged with felony methamphetamine possession after the ensuing search yielded 7 grams of the substance.

He later was hit with the Class X possession charge for possessing at least 15 grams of cocaine on Aug. 27.

At a Tuesday detention hearing, Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Kelley Porter asked to have Hornick held pending trial. She said his pattern of conduct since Oct. 28 showed a steadfast refusal to comply with the terms of release.

“You can tell him he needs to do something,” Porter said, “but he’s just not going to listen.”

In response, Public Defender Ryan Hamer said Hornick hadn’t exhausted all pre-trial restrictions and that home confinement still was an option.

But Judge Michael C. Jansz said he couldn’t overlook the pattern of behavior while Hornick was on GPS monitoring. He ordered Hornick to be detained ahead of trial. Dates are pending.