NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• ELMWOOD – A dog was killed but no people were injured in a fire at an Elmwood residence, according to authorities. The blaze began about 1:45 p.m. Feb. 6 at 403 W. South St., according to Elmwood Fire Chief Bob Tannock.
When firefighters arrived, significant smoke and fire were emanating from the rear of the residence. The fire spread to the attic. The resident wasn’t home, but five dogs were rescued.
Damage was estimated at $35,000, according to Tannock. Firefighters from the Akron-Princeville, Brimfield, Elba-Salem, Farmington and Logan-Trivoli departments helped their Elmwood counterparts. BYE Ambulance and city workers also assisted. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal is investigating.
• FARMINGTON – A Farmington-area man suspected of drunken driving had a blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal limit.
Eric J. Gooding, 48, was behind the wheel of a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck when a Farmington police officer stopped it about 12:45 a.m. Feb. 1 on Fulton Street near West Street. A witness notified police about Gooding’s erratic driving, according to a report.
Gooding’s speech was slurred. His BAC was .168; the legal limit is .08. Gooding received a notice to appear Friday, Feb. 21, in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown.
• YATES CITY – A Yates City woman reported a suspicious person wandering in her backyard. The incident happened about 5:45 p.m. Jan. 30 in the 400 block of N. Kellogg St., according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.
The woman said she was letting her dogs out of her residence when she noticed the male, whom she believes resides nearby. She said she feared for her teenaged daughters.
A deputy visited the suspect’s residence, but he wasn’t home, nor was he located.
• DAHINDA – An inoperable vehicle sustained damage from an out-of-control grass fire at a residence south of Dahinda.
The fire was reported about 3:15 p.m. Jan. 29 in the 1700 block of Knox Road 1250 North. The resident said he was burning wood in a pasture near the house and walked inside for a moment.
By the time the man returned, the fire had spread, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The front end of a 2006 Ford Taurus parked in front of the residence was engulfed in flames. Williamsfield firefighters and Oak Run first responders responded.
• HANNA CITY – An uncontrolled burn at a property north of Hanna City resulted in damage to a chicken coop. First responders were summoned shortly before 2 p.m. Jan. 29 to the 1500 block of N. Murphy Rd.
The property owner said he was burning garbage and went inside for about 10 minutes. When he returned, his yard was on fire, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Logan-Trivoli firefighters brought the blaze under control. The chicken coop sustained partial burns.
• DOUGLAS – A field fire destroyed about 70 hay bales at a farm south of Douglas. Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched about 2 p.m. Jan. 29 to the 50 block of Knox Road 1800 East.
Residents there saw smoke rise from the back of a field and toward the hay bales before flames spread across the entire field, according to a sheriff’s-office report.
Firefighters from the Elba-Salem, Elmwood, Fairview, London Mills and Maquon departments responded. Damage was estimated at $7,000.
• DAHINDA – A Dahinda-area woman said she received a federal tax form for tuition at a university she never attended.
The 52-year-old victim reported the apparent fraud to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office about 10 a.m. Jan. 28, according to a report. The form was from the University of Phoenix. It listed her correct address but her maiden name. The victim said she didn’t know how the university would access her information.
Payments received were listed at $5,456, and scholarships and grants received were listed at $3,698. Recipients might be able to claim the expenses as education-related tax credits.
• NORRIS – An Elmwood-area man and woman appeared to avoid significant injury from a two-vehicle wreck at an intersection near Norris.
Shortly after 7 p.m. Jan. 23, Rangvald H. Olsen, 36, was driving a 2015 Ford Explorer north on Illinois Route 78 when the vehicle collided with a 2024 Honda Civic that was eastbound on Owens Road, a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office report stated.
The other driver, 21-year-old Miguel A. Hernandez of Peoria, did not obey a stop sign posted at the intersection. His vehicle landed in a culvert and Olsen’s landed in a ditch.
Olsen and a passenger, a 36-year-old Elmwood-area woman, did not require hospital attention. Neither did Hernandez, who was cited for disobeying a traffic-control device. Both vehicles were towed.
• CANTON – A two-vehicle crash east of Canton left a Farmington man with minor injuries. Zane E. Sweet, 19, was driving a northbound 2001 Toyota Corolla about 12:45 a.m. Jan. 19 on County Highway 27 at County Highway 28 when a strong crosswind pushed the vehicle into the path of a southbound 2006 Ford F-150 pickup truck, according to a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office report.
Cody H. Fragel, 41, of Glasford was the other driver. He reported no injuries. Sweet refused medical treatment. Both vehicles were towed.
• EDELSTEIN – Shortly before 5:45 p.m. Jan. 25, Michael J. Nauman of Princeville was driving a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck west on Truitt Road at Centerville Road east of Edelstein when the vehicle struck a deer. Nauman said he wasn’t injured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained disabling front-end damage and was towed.
• PRINCEVILLE – Shortly before 6 p.m. Jan. 24, a Princeville boy of unspecified age was driving a westbound 2021 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in the 13800 block of W. Brimfield-Jubilee Rd. when the vehicle struck a deer. The driver was uninjured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle was towed after it sustained damage.
• FARMINGTON – Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23, Elizabeth A. Iniguez, 57, of Maquon was driving a 2016 Kia east on Illinois Route 116 west of Farmington when the vehicle struck a deer. Iniguez was uninjured, according to a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained more than $1,500 in damage but was drivable.
• CANTON – At 5:30 p.m. Jan. 22, Jesse K. Martinez, 48, of Farmington was driving a northbound 2011 Ford F-150 pickup truck on County Highway 21 about one-half mile north of Cypress Road northwest of Canton when the vehicle struck a deer. Martinez was not injured, according to a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained more than $1,500 in damage but was drivable.
• ELMWOOD – Chief Aaron Bean reported the following Elmwood Police Department activity for January: one arrest, seven traffic stops, one citation, nine warnings and 13 reports.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Jan. 26-Feb. 1: grass fire, Galva; suspicious person, Dahinda; structure fire, Dahinda; suspicious person, Williamsfield.
