A Springfield man involved in a high speed chase through Sangamon, Morgan, and Greene County last year has been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges.
WICS Newschannel 20 reports that 36 year old Vonta L. Commer of Springfield has been charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Commer has a long line of felony arrests dating back to the early 2000s in the area including robbery, armed robbery, and miscellaneous drug charges.
A State Journal Register story indicates that Commer was arrested in May 2013 for a shooting in the 2100 block of South Renfro Street in Springfield. Commer was cited with a parole violation, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery/discharge firearm in the arrest by Springfield. Commer was later charged in Sangamon County Court for manufacture and delivery of cocaine. Commer would go on to plead guilty to the drug charges and be sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, along with 3 years of Mandatory Supervised Release.
In May 2021, Commer would lead multiple agencies on a high speed chase through Sangamon, Morgan, and Greene County after refusing to pull over for a traffic stop for Illinois State Police after they allegedly observed traffic violations on Interstate 72. Commer was eventually stopped after a high speed chase down Illinois Route 267. Greene County authorities performed a pit maneuver on Commer’s 2020 Nissan just north of the Illinois Route 108 intersection and took him into custody. Commer would plead guilty to aggravated fleeing of police in August 2021 and was sentenced to 1 year of conditional discharge plus fines, fees, and court costs.
The plea was also pending deferred prosecution in Sangamon County Court on charges of armed habitual criminal, manufacture and delivery of methamphetamine, and possession of a weapon by a felon charges. Commer was also wanted in May 2021 for a parole violation and a Sangamon County traffic warrant. He is scheduled to have a trial call on April 11th.
Yesterday, the federal grand jury indicted Commer as a part of The Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. Commer is currently being lodged on undisclosed charges at the Macon County Jail in Decatur.