Peoria man arrested at gunpoint in Edwards

By NICK VLAHOS
For The Weekly Post

EDWARDS – A Peoria man was arrested at gunpoint after he drove erratically on a road near Edwards. A syringe and an illicit drug were found in his vehicle.

Ethan C. Ghantous, 27, was stopped shortly after 8 p.m. July 26 in the 7900 block of W. Illinois Route 8, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. Earlier, another motorist reported the car Ghantous was driving, a 2014 Chevrolet sedan, had struck a deer.

An initial police search was fruitless, but the car was spotted again eastbound on Route 8 near McClellan Road northeast of Elmwood. When deputies encountered the vehicle near Edwards, it was traveling unusually slow, then stopped, then resumed travel and swerved all over the road, according to a sheriff’s office report.

Ghantous refused to stop for police initially. When Ghantous did, he did not obey commands to show his hands, which prompted one deputy to pull his service weapon. A male passenger in the car was unresponsive.

Once Ghantous exited the car, he was handcuffed. He denied being involved in a wreck and said he didn’t have a passenger. Inside the vehicle was found the syringe and a plastic bag that contained about 1 gram of heroin, the report stated.

Ghantous was booked into the Peoria County Jail on accusations of driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. Ghantous also was cited for attempting to elude an officer, improper lane use and for not having a valid driver’s license.

The passenger awakened eventually and was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. There was no report about his condition.