Springfield, Illinois – The owner and CEO of Urgent Rent-A-Car, Jordan J. Monroe, 32, a well-known figure in Springfield, Illinois, due to his documented unethical and illegal business practices, was sentenced Friday, December 15, 2023 after being found guilty of Aggravated Battery, a class 3 felony, following a jury trial. The charges stemmed from an incident where a male victim, who was also a Rent-A-Car customer renting a vehicle from the business, reported being punched in the face by Monroe outside United Community Bank (UCB) located at 617 Bruns Ln. on August 11, 2021.

According to the victim, he had just parked at UCB Bank to pick up a friend from work when a black male in his 30s, accompanied by Monroe in a suit, removed him from the vehicle before he could put the car in park. The victim, who had rented the car from Urgent Rent-A-Car, reported Monroe taking the vehicle key and driving off.

The victim stated that he had rented the vehicle from Urgent Rent-A-Car, and the vehicle was not due back until after 5:00 p.m. that day. The officer noted that the time the victim called the police to report the battery was 4:49 p.m., and the incident occurred before that.

The victim informed the police that, while attempting to retrieve his belongings from the vehicle (which included $300, a Turbo Phone Charger, Cash App Debit Card, Uber Debit Card, Lyft Debit Card, Grub Hub Debit Card, House Keys, and a Red Grub Hub Bag with paperwork), Monroe punched him in the face. The officer noted in his report that the victim had a visible laceration to his nose and was bleeding. “There was blood on the ground where the incident occurred and on the front of the victim’s shirt.”

The victim continued his statement by saying that when he was pulled out of the vehicle, it rolled back into Jordan’s vehicle, a blue and white BMW sports car. The officer noted, “The victim stated that the doors flipped up to open, and there was damage to the front bumper from the vehicle rolling back into it.”

The victim said after he was punched in the face by Monroe, Monroe got back in his BMW and left the scene.

The officer spoke with an employee at UCB bank who confirmed that they would have video of the incident. UCB Bank emailed over security footage, and the officer noted in his report what he observed in the video.

“The video showed the suspect vehicle pull directly behind the victim’s vehicle after it parked in the parking space near UCB Bank. The suspect vehicle was positioned in a manner that prevented the victim’s vehicle from backing out of the parking space. The driver exited the suspect vehicle and walked to the driver’s door of the victim’s vehicle and opened it. The suspect vehicle driver then appeared to reach into the victim’s vehicle. It appeared both drivers were exchanging words as a passenger (tall, heavy-set black male wearing all black) from the suspect vehicle exited and walked to the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle. The black male stood at the victim’s vehicle. He appeared to still be exchanging words with the driver of the victim’s vehicle when the driver quickly exited, and the victim’s vehicle rolled into the suspect’s vehicle.”

“After the unoccupied vehicle collided, the suspect vehicle driver rushed over to the victim’s vehicle driver, punched him in the face, and then got into the suspect vehicle and fled the scene. As this was taking place, the black male got in the driver’s seat of the victim’s vehicle. As the victim chased after the suspect vehicle, the black male drove off in the victim’s vehicle.”

Springfield Police Officers attempted to locate Monroe, including having a Chatham Police Department officer go by his registered address in Chatham, but Monroe was not found.

However, 10 days later, on August 20, 2021, Monroe was charged by the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office with 2 counts of Aggravated Battery and 2 counts of Battery. Monroe was released after paying 10 percent ($5,000) of his $50,000 bond. Before trial, the State’s Attorney’s office dismissed both counts of Battery and instead tried him on the two counts of Aggravated Battery, both class 3 felonies.

On July 10, 2023, a Sangamon County Jury deliberated for an hour and returned a guilty verdict for Aggravated Battery (bodily harm) and found him not guilty for Aggravated Battery (insulting or provoking contact).

In court on Friday, Monroe’s attorney, John Sharp, informed Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow that, due to subsequent information, they had reached the stage of a negotiated disposition. This negotiated disposition concluded all of Monroe’s pending cases, and he was sentenced to 24 months of probation for Aggravated Battery, a class 3 felony. Other charges in separate cases, such as reckless driving, reckless conduct, and disorderly conduct — all misdemeanors — were dropped. Additionally, a case for Aggravated fleeing and eluding from Chatham police in October 2021, a class 4 felony, was dismissed. A separate speeding ticket (35+ mph over the limit) was dismissed, but Monroe had to pay a $402 fine for that case. His Insurance Fraud case, a class 3 felony, was dismissed, but he was ordered to repay the National Interstate Insurance Company $2,124.34. His 2016 BMW i8 is also set to be released and returned to him.

A reporter for Springfield Leaks did reach out to John Milhiser, the re-appointed State’s Attorney for Sangamon County, to inquire about what our sources are describing as a sweetheart plea deal considering his criminal history. However, we have not received a response from Milhiser as of now.

Sources close to Springfield Leaks also confirmed that Monroe has a history of providing GPS data from his rental vehicles to the police. One source, who requested anonymity, verified that a particular Springfield Police Detective would contact Monroe via call or text when investigating a shooting. The detective would also check if Monroe had a vehicle matching the description of one involved in a shooting and seek information. The source also confirmed that information was shared with the police, contributing to various drug busts.

Monroe has an extensive criminal history and a record of unethical and illegal business practices that led to the involvement of Springfield, Chatham, and Secretary of State Police:

February 4, 2021:

• An Urgent Rent-A-Car Saturn Cue 4-door car, towed due to the driver having a revoked license, had a different license plate on the vehicle that didn’t belong to it. In the report, the officer wrote, “At this time, Urgent is suspected of knowingly displaying the wrong registration plates on the Saturn and renting it out regardless. The company is owned by Jordan J. Monroe.”

May 23, 2021:

• A woman reported to the police that her rental car from Urgent Rent A Car was repossessed before the late fee was due. Urgent Rent A Car claimed the vehicle was taken out of state, violating their contract. Springfield Police intervened to retrieve the renter’s items left in the vehicle. The officer noted that when asked about an inventory of the property, Jordan Monroe did not provide one and only showed a black trash bag, stating all items were in the bag. After a Sergeant responded, the renter got her property back, but $700 was reported missing from her wallet.

July 06, 2021:

• Jordan Monroe went to the Starbucks Coffee Shop located at 3412 Freedom Drive. He came through the drive-thru and asked about the employee’s co-worker, inquiring if the co-worker’s girlfriend was working. The co-worker asked Monroe “how do you know him,” and Monroe replied that he and his female passengers were fans of the co-worker. The employee then asked Monroe to please stop asking personal questions about him. According to the employee, Monroe got upset and attempted to drive away, but the employee still had his card. After the employee tried to give it back to him, she dropped it inside his car through the window. She then told the police that when she turned around, she was struck in the lower leg by a full cold drink. The employee said she wasn’t injured but was extremely alarmed and disturbed by Monroe’s actions.

July 17, 2021:

• Deontrey L. Holder was arrested at Urgent Rent A Car. Police were called to the business for a disturbance. According to the report, Holder stated that his cousin rented a car from Urgent Rent a Car, and he was driving it. However, Urgent Rent a Car repossessed the vehicle for lack of proof of insurance. Holder told the police that he had several car seats inside the vehicle, and per Urgent Rent a Car’s contract, to retrieve the car seats, Holder had to pay a $100 repossession fee. According to police, Holder did not want to pay the fee.

Police read the contract, and according to the contract, Urgent Rent a Car has the right to repossess any vehicle they rent for any reason; the property inside the vehicle becomes the property of Urgent Rent a Car, and in order to retrieve the property, Urgent Rent a Car must be paid a $100 repossession fee. After police informed Holder of the contract, they told him that he would have to settle the matter in civil court and that he needed to leave the property.

Police reported that Holder stated he did not care if he went to jail for giving somebody a bloody nose. According to police, Monroe stated he is a six (6) time felon and was attempting to antagonize Holder into a physical fight. Monroe also made a shrewd business decision by removing a large amount of cash from the safe and placing it directly on the counter in front of Holder to try and prove Monroe did not care about cash, and that his stance was based purely on his noble principles. Police say Holder requested a supervisor within the Springfield Police Department but was told that they were busy dealing with an unrelated robbery and shooting. Police say Holder then stated someone else was probably going to get shot. Based on his tone and body language, police believed Holder to be making a threat. At approximately 7:18 p.m., police placed Holder under arrest.

Holder was arrested on preliminary charges of Aggravated Assault, a class A misdemeanor, and Criminal Trespass to Property, a class B misdemeanor. However, the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office declined to file charges.

September 19, 2021:

• Three vehicles at Urgent Rent-A-Car were damaged. Tires were slashed.

September 21, 2021:

• A man went to 1817 E. Keys Ave in Springfield, Illinois after his $400 Lenovo Laptop was pinging to that address. According to the man, his nephew had rented a vehicle from Urgent Rent-A-Car, and his rental was expired. The vehicle was towed from Crown Plaza in Lombard, IL on September 20, 2021. The man said that he spoke to the CEO of the company (Jordan Monroe), who said he did not have the laptop and suggested that the tow company possibly stole it.

The man told the police his suitcase was in the Urgent Rent-A-Car at the time of the tow, and when he went to Urgent Rent A Car to retrieve his property, he noticed his laptop was missing from his luggage. The man described his laptop as silver, black, gray, with music notes on it. The serial number for the Lenovo 81 MU Laptop is PF1C69BL.

September 25, 2021:

• A family had their Urgent Rent A Car vehicle repossessed by a tow truck while picking up food, after making arrangements to make a payment on their rental. A woman complained to the police and said Monroe “shoulder checked” her (using his shoulder to push her backward). The woman reported that when she called Urgent Rent-A-Car and spoke to someone she believed to be Monroe based on his voice, she asked for the names of the three men who were in the tow truck. The man responded and said, “The only thing you need to worry about is me kidnapping your daughter, raping her, and barbecuing the nigger bitch.” That same day, the officer reported that the silver Chrysler Sebring that the family was driving was registered in the State of Arizona and Illinois.

October 8, 2021:

• Police responded to Urgent Rent A Car after a man called the police to report that his rented car broke down less than a block away from the business. When the man went back to the business to attempt to get his money back or get a different car, the business refused to issue a refund and told him he had to leave. The man told them he was going to wait for the police when a male employee grabbed him in a headlock and dragged him outside the building. According to a separate witness, she reported that she saw Monroe kicking the man and that the man was trying to cover up and not fight back.

October 11, 2021:

• Monroe was clocked speeding over 80 miles-per-hour in a 40 mile-per-hour speed zone in Chatham, Illinois by Chatham Police. Chatham police obtained a seizure warrant for the vehicle he was driving that night, a BMW i8 Coupe. Monroe attempted to prevent police from seizing the vehicle, which required Chatham Police to seek a warrant for the vehicle and the driver, Monroe. Monroe was charged with Aggravated fleeing and eluding police, a class 4 felony. This case was dismissed with a $402 fine and his BMW i8 was ordered to be returned to him.

October 21, 2021:

• Monroe contacted Chatham Police Department to report that he was a victim of “Cyberstalking” by an ex-employee who had been stealing from the company and fired. According to Monroe, the fired employee wrote on two Facebook groups and announced that “Urgent Rent a Car says they will refund your money if you got repoed.” The ex-employee then included in the post Monroe’s residential address located at 1831 Spartan Dr., in Chatham, Illinois.

According to Monroe’s complaint to the Chatham Police Department, he was extremely worried that his home address is now on Facebook for people to see. “Jordan stated he had issues with customers in the past and is worried that they could come to his home.” After an Investigator with the Chatham Police Department contacted Assistant State’s Attorney, Haley Botts, to ask what else they needed for this case, Botts told the Investigator, “the case would not be charged, and there was nothing else he could do for them.”

March 19, 2023:

• Springfield Police were called to Urgent Rent A Car to meet with customers at the business for a disturbance. According to police, the caller said that the owner of the business, Jordan Monroe, was threatening to “mace” people.

Police spoke with Monroe, who said that a rental car was brought back by a different person who didn’t rent the vehicle, and they were attempting to get a deposit returned although they weren’t the person who rented the vehicle. Monroe said he told them to leave his property, but they stayed on the sidewalk and at one point had bricks in their hands. Monroe said he feared that they might begin to damage his property, and that’s when he went outside to confront them. Monroe said the man punched him on the left shoulder.

According to the man who returned the vehicle, Monroe had maced a person who showed up to help him. According to the woman, she said that Monroe had pushed her because she started recording the incident. She stated that the man did not strike Monroe.

Police reviewed the surveillance cameras on Monroe’s building. “It appeared as if Monroe and an unknown individual followed the group down the sidewalk instead of staying inside and calling the police. That video shows the unknown subject approach Monroe and either throw something at him or drop something. Monroe then sprays him, and he eventually leaves.” No arrests were made that day due to a lack of independent witnesses, evidence, and the fact that Monroe and an unknown individual followed the party down the sidewalk.

The instances mentioned above, where Springfield Police had to be called to Urgent Rent-A-Car, represent only a few detailed events. According to records from Sangamon County, there are numerous additional instances where Springfield Police were called due to customer disputes.

Monroe’s Criminal History:

• Retail Theft (Class 3): McLean County Case Number 2018-CF-288 (sentenced to 30 days in county jail and 30 months of felony probation)

• Aggravated Battery (Class 3) and Criminal Damage to Property (Class 4): Sangamon County Case Number 2015-CF-170 (sentenced to 1 year in the Department of Corrections)

• Criminal Damage to Property (Class 4): Sangamon County Case Number 2013-CF-889 (sentenced to 1 year in the Department of Corrections)

• Aggravated Robbery (Class 2): Sangamon County Case Number 2010-CF-817 (sentenced to 5 years in the Department of Corrections)