Jacksonville Man Barricades Himself In 7th Floor Apartment, Lights It On Fire, Throws Things From the Building

By Benjamin Cox on June 26, 2020 at 5:27am

A Jacksonville man who plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge on Tuesday in Morgan County Court was arrested last night after he barricaded himself in an apartment and set the apartment on fire.

At approximately 5:29 yesterday evening, Jacksonville Police responded to 301 W. Beecher reference a subject throwing items out of a possible 6th floor window of the Beecher High Rise apartments.

When officers arrived there was evidence that items had been thrown from one of the apartments. Officers were able to determine the suspect was on the 7th floor of Beecher Hi-Rise. Officers attempted to make contact with the resident who yelled that he had barricaded the door and had started a fire. Officers could smell smoke and attempted to make entry.

Officers were able to open the door far enough to see the apartment was filling with smoke and ordered 23 year old Zachary D. Formanek to open the door. Formanek refused and officers were able to make entry and take Formanek into custody. The Jacksonville Fire Department responded and made the residence safe.

Formanek was transported to Passavant Area Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Formanek plead guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanor disorderly conduct stemming from an arrest on April 13th in which he pulled a fire alarm at the Hi-Rise when there was no emergency. Formanek was sentenced to a $200 county fine plus court costs.

Charges are currently pending in the Beecher Hi-Rise incident.