JEFFERSON COUNTY — After representing himself in almost a half-dozen court hearing, a 23-year-old Springfield man has requested an attorney be appointed in his Jefferson County case.

Shonn Bacon was arrested in January and charged in January with being an armed habitual criminal and aggravated vehicular hijacking with a weapon. Both charges are Class X felonies punishable by between 6 and 30 years each if convicted.

Bail was set at $250,000 in the case that accuses Bacon of entering an occupied vehicle in the Arby’s parking lot in Mt. Vernon. He was reportedly still armed with a handgun having left an armed altercation inside Applebee’s moments earlier.

Mt. Vernon police, who were enroute for the Applebee’s call entered a brief foot pursuit with Bacon who exited the hijacked vehicle upon their arrival.

After initially refusing to drop his weapon, Bacon eventually complied but resisted arrest before being taken into custody.

It was determined at that time that he was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections stemming from a 2015 conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Sangamon County.

Bacon initially indicated he would hire a private attorney for the Jefferson County case but has proceeded pro-se since his arraignment, with the case on track for an April 17 jury trial.

However, on Tuesday the court appointed defense attorney Aaron Hopkins to represent Bacon after he requested a public defender.

Hopkins’ appointment to the case will likely delay its progress as he will likely need time to build a defense. The case is next scheduled for a final pre-trial hearing on Thursday.