NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• FARMINGTON – A traffic stop in Farmington led to two people being detained.
Margaret E. Venzon, 50, of Farmington was driving a 2006 Nissan Titan a police officer pulled over at 9 p.m. on May 14 near Main Street and Barlow Road. The vehicle’s driver’s-side taillight wasn’t working, according to a Farmington police report.
A check revealed Venzon’s driver’s license was suspended. Also revealed was an outstanding Fulton County warrant for Venzon’s passenger, 61-year-old Dennis C. Kingsley of Farmington. He was wanted for driving with a revoked license.
Kingsley was arrested and transported to the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown. Venzon was cited for license and taillight issues.
• LAWN RIDGE – As the result of an alleged battery in Lawn Ridge, a Peoria man was discovered to be a non-compliant sex offender. Tracy D. Williams, 30, was arrested following the incident, around 8 p.m. May 13 at a residence in the 23400 block of Illinois Route 40, according to a redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Williams admitted to pushing a 42-year-old Speer man to the ground. There was at least one witness, a 76-year-old Edelstein woman. Williams first was reported to be holding someone at gunpoint, but that was inaccurate.
A check revealed Williams failed to register his address with authorities, as is required of convicted sex offenders. Williams also was accused of battery and aggravated domestic battery and was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• KICKAPOO – An Edwards woman was transported to a Peoria hospital following a two-vehicle rollover wreck south of Kickapoo.
Jessica K. Leighton of Hennepin was driving a southbound 2020 Ford Explorer about 9:30 a.m. May 12 on Kickapoo-Edwards Road when at Smith Road a 2024 Hyundai Elantra driven by Crystal A. Chiaravalle collided with it, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
The Elantra was eastbound on Smith Road. Accounts differed about whether Chiaravalle stopped at the intersection. Her vehicle rolled onto its driver’s side. Chiaravalle complained about head and neck pain and was taken to Carle Health Methodist Hospital. Leighton sustained small cuts to both wrists.
Both vehicles were towed. Chiaravalle was cited for failure to yield and for driving without insurance.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City woman who was brandishing a knife, according to authorities, was arrested in connection with a domestic dispute. A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched about 2 a.m. May 10 to a residence in the 12900 block of W. Hanna St. The dispatcher said Raveen M. Washington, 24, had put down the knife but fighting was in progress, according to a sheriff’s-office report.
Washington was apprehended at a nearby residence. The victim was a 27-year-old man. Washington was accused of domestic battery and resisting a peace officer. She was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – A Galva man was arrested in Williamsfield for violating an order of protection, according to authorities. A Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped Joshua M. Dunn, 42, as he drove a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck shortly after 7 p.m. May 8 in the 1300 block of Illinois Route 180.
Earlier, Dunn texted his ex-girlfriend, a 41-year-old Williamsfield woman, a sheriff’s-office report stated. The no-contact order of protection was in effect until June 13. The woman suggested she and Dunn meet, then contacted the sheriff’s office. A deputy took Dunn to the Knox County Jail in Galesburg.
• ALTA – A two-vehicle rollover accident at an Alta intersection resulted in a teenage boy from Princeville requiring hospital attention.
The boy was driving a 2004 Ford F-150 pickup truck east on Alta Lane when the vehicle collided with a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pickup about 7:30 a.m. May 8 at the three-way junction with Second and Atlantic streets. The F-150 rolled onto its driver’s side and hit a stop sign.
Brian A. Woelfle of Peoria was the other driver. According to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report, he said the boy disobeyed a stop sign. Dashcam video confirmed Woelfle’s account. The boy admitted fault and said the vehicle radio distracted him.
Woelfle complained about left-arm pain but declined treatment. An ambulance transported the boy to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was cited for an unspecified offense. Both vehicles were towed.
• MAQUON – A traffic stop near Maquon led to a Farmington-area woman’s arrest for driving with a suspended license.
Alexis M. Kirk, 21, was behind the wheel of a southbound 2009 Chevrolet Traverse a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled over shortly after 3:30 a.m. May 7 in the 300 block of Illinois Route 97. The vehicle had only one functioning headlight, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.
Kirk admitted she had an invalid license. She was transported to the Knox County Jail in Galesburg was cited for the headlight violation and received a notice to appear in Knox County Circuit Court on the suspended-license charge.
• BELLEVUE – A female driver from Edwards was a target of a rock-throwing Peoria man west of Bellevue. The 73-year-old woman notified a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy about the incident, which happened about 7:45 p.m. May 6 near the Youth Farm of Children’s Home Association, 7225 W. Plank Rd.
When the deputy arrived, he saw a 2020 Toyota RAV4 parked on the shoulder and Youth Farm staff subduing 18-year-old Kendon D. Simpson, according to a heavily redacted report. Simpson was accused of aggravated battery and criminal damage to property. He was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City woman was charged with two counts of violating an order of protection.
Jessica L Smick, 32, was arrested in connection with an incident at about 6:45 p.m. May 6 in the 400 block of N. Third St., according to a redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
The victim was a 40-year-old Hanna City woman. Smick was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• FARMINGTON – A Farmington man was the apparent victim of identity theft. On May 6, the 46-year-old victim reported someone opened in his name an Ameren Illinois account at a Peoria address, according to a Farmington police report. The victim received a utility bill for $1,106.56. He said he gave nobody permission to open an account. The victim said someone broke into a locked file cabinet about a year ago at his Glasford-area farm and stole tax documents.
• HANNA CITY – Todd E. Werneburg, 62, of Hanna City was arrested after 3:45 a.m. May 21 and accused of two counts of retail theft and failure to appear in court, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between May 11-17: harassment, Williamsfield; burglary, Dahinda; suspicious vehicle, Williamsfield; threats, Yates City; suspicious incident, Dahinda; road hazard, Williamsfield; two domestic disputes, Dahinda; disturbance, Yates City; alarm, Dahinda; theft, Yates City; suspicious person, Yates City; suspicious incident, La Fayette; theft, La Fayette.
• DAHINDA – At 7 a.m. May 10, Wayne Williamson, 48, of Kermit, W.Va., was driving a 2021 Chevrolet Blazer east on Interstate 74 near mile marker 58 south of Dahinda when the vehicle struck a deer that emerged from the north. Neither Williamson nor his 45-year-old female passenger was injured, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained damage to its front and undercarriage and was towed.
