URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - A Champaign man is accused of shooting at his estranged wife's home on Christmas Eve.
Christopher Ash, 37, will be in court Jan. 3 for a probable-cause hearing on charges of aggravated discharge of a gun, possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Police said at 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 24, officers removed Ash from his wife's home in the 2700 block of Sangamon Dr. after he showed up and confronted her about another man.
He then left the home.
Later that day, the woman got disturbing text messages from an unknown telephone number saying someone was watching her house. The person also referenced her mother who was visiting at the house.Â
Around 11 p.m., the woman heard two shots outside her home and saw a vehicle matching the one Ash had been driving speeding off.
Officers were in the area, heard the shots, and saw a car, but it left so fast, they could not pursue it safely, the News Gazette reported.
Police later found Ash. As he got out of the car, be ran, but was quickly caught, police said.
Officers said they found a loaded 9 mm handgun and a magazine in a plastic bag where Ash had been running. Under the seat of the car he had been driving, they found a spent 9 mm shell casing.
Police did not find any damage to the house, and no one was hurt.
The News Gazette reports Ash has prior convictions for aggravated robbery and obstructing justice and is not allowed to possess a gun.
Ash was ordered to have no contact with his estranged wife. She was granted an emergency order of protection.
