A Chicago man who choked someone and then launched an armed standoff in Mendota is going to prison for four years. A judge rejected Shaquille Jones’ request for probation with alcohol treatment.

Jones, 32, appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court for sentencing on a blind plea to aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony carrying three to seven years in prison. Prosecutors had previously agreed to cap their sentencing request at five years.

When offered a chance to speak, Jones rose from his seat and read rapid-fire from a prepared statement – the court reporter asked him to slow down – asking for time served and a chance to battle his alcohol issues.

“I let the drinking get the worst of me that day,” Jones said of his Sept. 23 arrest following a standoff.

But Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. said he couldn’t look past the cumulative events leading up to the standoff – “It was a long day” – and couldn’t disregard a criminal record that included trips to prison.

Jones was charged Sept. 23 after the victim in the case went to Mendota police and said and Jones had an early-morning argument that turned violent. Jones, they told police, tried to choke them with a shirt wrapped around their neck. He then took her phone and laptop to keep them from calling the police.

Jones would not come out of the residence, prompting a midday standoff with Mendota police that brought the 1100 block of Fifth Street to a standstill.

At sentencing Friday, assistant public defender Heidi Nelson said the incident was fueled by alcohol and that Jones “doesn’t remember what happened that day.”

Jones had never been properly treated for his alcohol and mental health issues and deserved a chance to correct them. She asked for a time-served disposition plus probation.

But assistant La Salle County state’s attorney Alison Kerestes said Jones has a long record dating back to a juvenile offense for aggravated battery, for which he received a custodial sentence, and a record of non-compliance when granted probation.

“He’s never once completed conditional discharge or court supervision successfully,” Kerestes said, adding later, “He’s a danger to society. He has a violent past and the Illinois Department of Corrections is appropriate in this matter.”

Jones has about four months’ credit for time served, but his four-year prison term is subject to the state Truth in Sentencing Act, requiring certain felons to serve at least 85% of their time.