The Weekly Post public record for 8-1-24

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Police reports

• FARMINGTON – A Farmington man who led police on a high-speed chase was accused of multiple crimes, including an illicit-drugs offense.

A Farmington police officer saw Eric F. Brand, 43, driving a 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck about 5:30 p.m. July 8 on Barlow Road. The officer knew Brand’s driver’s license had been revoked since 2018, according to a police report. Brand then didn’t use a signal when he turned north on Main Street.

The officer pursued Brand’s vehicle north of Farmington on Knox Road 2300 East. The vehicle reached 80 mph before it stopped just north of Knox Road 50 North. A plastic bag that contained psychedelic mushrooms was found inside the vehicle, the report stated.

Brand was accused of possession of a controlled substance, driving with a revoked license, speeding 26-35 mph over the posted limit, failure to signal, operating an uninsured vehicle and driving a vehicle with a defective window. He received notices to appear in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown.

In a separate case, Brand was cited for failure to register with police as a violent offender.

• ELMWOOD – No injuries were reported following a kitchen fire at a residence east of Elmwood.

Firefighters were summoned shortly after 6:30 p.m. July 14 to the 19800 block of W. Meehan Rd. There they found light smoke emanating from the kitchen after the homeowner used an extinguisher to put out the flames.

The homeowner had been cooking sweet corn on a stove when a nearby plastic appliance ignited, according to Elmwood Fire Chief Bob Tannock. The fire spread to upper cabinets. Firefighters pulled down the cabinets, opened drywall and ventilated smoke.

Damage was minor, according to Tannock, who did not have a dollar estimate. Elba-Salem firefighters also responded.

• PRINCEVILLE – A Princeville man was arrested in connection with a domestic-battery incident.

Mark A. Deckard II, 27, was apprehended about 3:30 p.m. July 13 in the 200 block of W. Evans St. He was accused of domestic battery/ bodily harm and interfering with a domestic-violence report.

A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was summoned about an hour earlier to a residence in the 500 block of S. Santa Fe Ave. A heavily redacted sheriff’s-office report indicated an Akron-Princeville ambulance transported someone to Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria.

• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City woman was accused of pepper-spraying a man’s face, according to authorities.

Twaniya T. Ross, 20, was implicated regarding the incident, which took place about 4:30 p.m. July 13 at a residence in the 500 block of N. Main St. A heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report indicated the victim was from Hanna City.

Ross was charged with domestic battery and transported to the Peoria County Jail. She also was wanted in Peoria County for failure to appear in court.

• KICKAPOO – A Brimfield man was arrested for violating an order of protection at a Kickapoo-area horse-riding facility.

The alleged violation by Randy L. Barth, 58, took place shortly before 4:30 p.m. July 11 at Western Hearts Ranch & Riding Club, 6628 N. Kramm Rd., according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. A Brimfield woman who was picking up someone there had filed for the order.

Barth was taken into custody about 6 p.m. at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, then transported to the Peoria County Jail.

• FARMINGTON – A Farmington man was cited for driving without a valid license. Police stopped David L. Wade, 43, as he was driving a westbound 2005 Dodge minivan shortly after 5:45 p.m. July 11 in the 300 block of E. Fort St.

A check revealed Wade’s license was suspended June 13 for financial reasons, according to a Farmington police report.

Wade received a notice to appear Aug. 16 in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown. His vehicle was impounded.

• EDELSTEIN – A Dunlap man required hospital treatment following a one-vehicle accident near Edelstein.

Shortly after 7 p.m. July 6, Ernest T. Beach was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban south in the 20300 block of Illinois Route 40 when the vehicle swerved left, then right, a witness told the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle went airborne over a ditch and rolled at least three times into a cornfield.

Beach was ejected before the vehicle stopped and was unable to answer questions, per a sheriff’s-office report. He was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria with incapacitating injuries. The vehicle was a total loss.

• WILLIAMSFIELD – A Williamsfield-area man shot himself accidentally as he was cleaning his gun.

The incident happened about 2 p.m. July 6 at a residence in the 1800 block of Knox Road 2150 East.

The 37-year-old victim said he was cleaning the .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol when it fired, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.

A bullet struck the victim on the outside edge of his left hand and chipped a bone. He said he pulled the slide back to try to seat a bullet in the chamber. The victim was treated at and released from OSF Saint Luke Medical Center in Kewanee.

• DOUGLAS – Someone stole rocks from a government-owned pile south of Douglas, according to witnesses.

Shortly after 10:15 a.m. July 6, two Douglas men saw a red Dodge pickup truck pull up to the pile at Illinois Route 8 and Knox Highway 19, fill five-gallon buckets with rocks and drive toward Middle Grove, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.

A deputy searched for the truck, to no avail. Salem Township owns the rockpile. No suspect information was available.

• KICKAPOO – Lawrence W. Baldwin, 62, of Kickapoo was arrested shortly after 7:30 a.m. July 22 and accused of aggravated domestic battery/great bodily harm, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

• ELMWOOD – Dalton L. Sander, 18, of Elmwood was arrested shortly before 2 p.m. July 21 and accused of two counts of domestic battery/ bodily harm, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between July 14-20: wire down, Williamsfield; road hazard, Williamsfield; wire down, Dahinda; wire down, La Fayette; abandoned vehicle, Dahinda; threats, Yates City; DUI, Yates City; burglary, Douglas; burglary, Dahinda; suspicious incident, Dahinda.