NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.Police reports
• PEORIA – A Farmington man was accused of stealing a purse from a woman at a Peoria warehouse-club retailer. The incident happened about 4:15 p.m. March 29 at Sam’s Club, 4100 W. Willow Knolls Drive. Security-camera video revealed a man grabbed the yellow purse from a shopping cart, then fled as a passenger in a silver 2014 Chevrolet Impala, according to a Peoria Police Department report.
A Peoria officer traced the vehicle’s license plate to Farmington. A Farmington officer identified the suspect as 46-year-old Jonathan L. Halverson. The Farmington officer arrested Halverson about 7 p.m. and transferred him to Peoria police in Hanna City.
Halverson denied stealing the purse, the report stated. He was charged with theft. Total amount reported stolen was $560, including $400 in currency. Halverson also was wanted in Minnesota for failure to appear in court.
• OAK HILL – A two-vehicle rear-end crash near Oak Hill resulted in no apparent injuries.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m. March 29, Denise I. Dalton of Elmwood was driving a 2021 Chevrolet Equinox south on Maher Road when her vehicle struck a 2019 Jeep Cherokee stopped at the intersection with Illinois Route 8, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Dalton said she was unable to stop.
Tekayla R. Wilkins-Fenderson of Elmwood was the other driver; she had two passengers. Her vehicle sustained minor damage and was drivable. So did Dalton’s vehicle.
• TRIVOLI – A Trivoli-area man appeared to be scammed out of $71,000, according to authorities.
The 72-year-old victim reported the incident about 2:30 p.m. March 28, according to a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The money apparently went missing from the victim’s checking account
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• EDWARDS – A Farmington woman required a hospital visit following a single-vehicle accident east of Edwards that sparked a field fire.
At 11 a.m. March 27, Judith Harper was driving a northbound 2020 Honda Accord in the 4200 block of N. Koerner Rd. when she swerved to avoid a deer. The vehicle struck a utility pole, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Power lines from the pole fell and caused the fire. An ambulance transported Harper to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Her injuries weren’t specified. Limestone firefighters doused the flames, and Ameren Illinois workers helped clear the roadway.
• HANNA CITY – Neither driver was injured in a two-vehicle crash in Hanna City. Anthony J. Delost of Farmington was driving a westbound 2015 Ford Fusion shortly before 5:45 p.m. March 26 on Farmington Road at Main Street when the vehicle rear-ended a 2014 Nissan Juke, per a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The other driver was Ethan Cullen of Hanna City.
Cullen said he stopped suddenly because a vehicle in front of his was turning right. Delost said he tried to stop and swerved left but couldn’t avoid a collision. The Fusion sustained front passenger-side bumper and quarter-panel damage, same as the Juke to its rear driver’s side. Both vehicles were drivable.
• BELLEVUE – A Hanna City man avoided injury after his vehicle crashed into a mattress lying on a roadway west of Bellevue.
Tyler T. Baugher was driving an eastbound 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck at 11:30 a.m. March 26 on Plank Road near Maxwell Road when wind blew the mattress out of the bed of a westbound 2014 Chevrolet Silverado. Baugher was unable to brake quickly enough to avoid the accident.
According to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report, the other driver – Terrell L. Johnson of Peoria – said the mattress was not tied down because he thought it was heavy enough to remain in place. The Ram sustained moderate front-bumper and grille damage but was drivable.
• HANNA CITY – A two-vehicle wreck west of Hanna City resulted in a female requiring a hospital visit.
Shortly before 8:30 p.m. March 25, Autumn A. Cook of Canton was driving a 2008 Ford sedan west on Illinois Route 116 at Eden Road when the vehicle rear-ended a stopped 2017 Acura sedan, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. Brette Orwig of Canton was the other driver.
Cook said Orwig’s vehicle and others were stopped because of another accident, which distracted her. Cook’s passenger said the accident happened so quickly she didn’t remember it. She complained about shoulder and hand pain and was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Neither driver reported injuries. Orwig’s vehicle sustained minor rear-end damage and was drivable. Cook’s vehicle had was towed. Logan-Trivoli firefighters also responded.
• OAK RUN – A traffic stop on Interstate 74 south of Oak Run resulted in a Galesburg man’s arrest after 14 bags of raw cannabis were found in the vehicle trunk.
Equentin J. Harris Jr., 24, also possessed $4,288 in cash when he was arrested, about 6 p.m. March 18 at mile marker 59 on the interstate. He was a passenger in a Jeep Cherokee a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled over for having an obstructed license plate, according to a report.
The deputy smelled pot emanating from the vehicle; 49 grams of it were found in the trunk. Harris said he and the driver, a 24-year-old Peoria man, were heading to Bloomington to hang out with friends.
Harris was accused of possession with intent to deliver between 30 and 500 grams of cannabis and was transported to the Knox County Jail in Galesburg. He also was wanted in Warren County for violating a court order. Authorities confiscated the cannabis and cash.
• BRIMFIELD – At 8 p.m. March 26, Susan L. Walker of Edwards was driving an eastbound 2020 Chevrolet Traverse on U.S. Route 150 at Fox Creek Drive east of Brimfield when the vehicle struck a deer. Walker and her two passengers were uninjured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained damage and was towed.
• PRINCEVILLE – At 8:30 p.m. March 25, Jaime R. Henson of Princeville was driving a northbound 2024 Nissan Sentra on Princeville-Jubilee Road at Parks School Road when the vehicle struck a deer. Henson and his two passengers weren’t injured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. He drove away the vehicle.
• FARMINGTON – At 9 p.m. March 17, Tanner W. Kenney of Farmington was driving a westbound 2015 Ford Fusion in the 23000 block of Illinois Route 116 when the vehicle struck a deer. Kenney was uninjured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained damage but was drivable.
• HANNA CITY – Matt J. Hankins, 48, of Hanna City was arrested at 5 p.m. April 1 on a writ of attachment, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between March 23-29: dispute, Yates City; wire down, La Fayette; fraud, Williamsfield; noise complaint, Yates City; grass fire, Williamsfield; battery, Williamsfield; burglar alarm, Yates City; burglar alarm, Williamsfield; parking complaint, Dahinda; physical domestic dispute, Dahinda.
