Wyoming raid nabs drugs, stolen items

By JOHN A. BALLENTINE
For The Prairie News

WYOMING – Quietly, the Stark County law enforcement vehicles loaded with police personnel rolled into position on the evening of Oct. 11 in downtown Wyoming.

A combined force of law enforcement officers wound up arresting two people and recovering a cache of drugs, weapons and stolen goods.

Law enforcement included Stark County Sheriff Steven Sloan and deputy sheriffs, the Toulon, Wyoming and Bradford police departments, the Wyoming Fire Department, the Stark County Ambulance Service, the State of Illinois Secretary of Police bomb squad, the Peoria Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and the Henry/Stark SWAT team.

Armed with several search warrants, officers entered a Wyoming apartment above the State of Illinois Motor Vehicle Office at 111 E. Williams St. There they found numerous drugs, an explosive device, ammunition, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Also found were items stolen from various locations.

Arrested was Caleb A. Deck, 47, for aggravated assault of a police officer, theft of $500 to $10,000, burglary, criminal trespass to state-supported property (Wyoming’s Illinois Department of Transportation depot), possession of meth/drug paraphernalia, possession of ammunition by a felon, two counts of felony possession of a weapon/firearm and explosive device/pipe bomb.
Charges were made related to stolen power tools and a club that was in the apartment.

Also arrested was Amanda L. Powell, 44, who was charged with possession of meth/drug paraphernalia and possession of an explosive devise/pipe bomb. She and Deck were transported to the Bureau County Jail.

The pipe bomb was disposed of by the Peoria bomb squad, according to a Stark County Sheriff’s press release.

Stark County Ambulance was staged and the Wyoming Fire Department blocked traffic during the downtown Wyoming raid.
Charges related to the IDOT facility are burglary, theft and criminal damage to state-supported property.

Officers also located other alleged stolen property at Wyoming storage facilities. The items arecovered that are believed to have been taken during various burglaries in Stark County.

Law enforcement had this raid in the works for some time prior to last Friday but were tight-lipped about it in order to preserve security and the element of surprise.

Deck had previously lived at the Wyoming Horse Sale Barn until its destruction by fire last year. He has a 2019 felony conviction for driving DUI on a revoked/suspended driver’s license plus a 2023 dismissed felony charge for methamphetamine possession.

Powell has a Marshall County criminal history. She has been charged with a 2023 felony aggravated discharge of a firearm count, a criminal misdemeanor for possession of a firearm and a felony charge of possession of a stolen firearm. She has a scheduled court appearance in Marshall County on Oct. 30 for the stolen firearm charge. Powell also has a dismissed battery with bodily harm misdemeanor charge. She was released from the Bureau County Jail with a notice to appear.