NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
High-speed chase leads to multiple charges
• FARMINGTON – A driver from Rock Island was accused of multiple crimes after he led Farmington police officers and others on a nocturnal chase that exceeded 70 mph.
Within about a half hour after Daniel T. Morgan, 32, posted bond on those charges, he was taken into police custody again – this time on an Iowa warrant for attempted murder.
The chase began about 1:15 a.m. Jan. 6 in Farmington. A Farmington officer spotted a 2021 gray Chevrolet Blazer with headlights off near Main Street and Barlow Road. When the officer flashed his vehicle’s headlights at the Blazer, it took off at high speed, according to a police report.
Morgan and two male passengers were in the Blazer, which traversed Fort Street, Diamond Point Road and other rural Fulton County byways. The vehicle struck at least two ditches and Morgan disregarded at least three stop signs, the report stated. Morgan also drove through at least two fields.
Canton police joined the pursuit, which ended when the rented vehicle crashed into a ditch along Owens Road near Norris. Morgan and a 40-year-old passenger from Monmouth were transported to Graham Hospital in Canton. That passenger complained about back and neck pain.
The other passenger, a 27-year-old from Kissimmee, Fla., was transported to the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown. So was Morgan, after he was treated at the hospital.
Morgan was cited for aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, resisting arrest, speeding, improper lane use, operating a vehicle without insurance, disobeying stop signs and driving without headlights. The other men were released from custody.
Later Jan. 6, Morgan posted $250 in bond and was released. Then came word from authorities in Bettendorf, Iowa, about the attempted-murder warrant, according to Chris Ford, a Fulton County Sheriff’s lieutenant.
“They called right after he posted bond and walked out our back door,” Ford said. “One of our deputies found him at Casey’s (in Lewistown). It was good timing they got the warrant to notify us when they did. We had some good deputies who had their eyes peeled.”
Morgan’s extradition to Iowa was expected earlier this week, Ford said.
Police reports
• WILLIAMSFIELD – A Peoria man was cited for driving as fast as 102 mph southwest of Williamsfield.
About 8 a.m. Jan. 5, Robert B. Woolsey III, 20, was piloting an eastbound 2016 Volvo XC90 in the 2000 block of East U.S. Route 150 when a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy recorded the vehicle’s speed on radar.
The posted speed limit is 55 mph.
Woolsey acknowledged he was driving at least 100 mph because he was late for work in Peoria, according to a sheriff’s-office report. The pavement was slick from light snow that was falling at the time of the traffic stop. Woolsey received a notice to appear in court.
• SPEER – Authorities were searching for a suspect in a hit-and-run accident at an intersection southwest of Speer. About 4 p.m. Dec. 31, a Bradford man was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox south on Holmes Road at County Line Road when a westbound pickup driver disregarded a stop sign, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
The pickup truck struck the driver’s side of the Equinox, which spun into a ditch southwest of the intersection. The gray-beige pickup truck continued at high speed. No injuries were reported. The Equinox driver was unable to see who was driving and unable to report a license-plate number.
Later, a Stark County Sheriff’s Office deputy found a 2000 beige GMC Sierra pickup truck parked along Duncan Road, a few miles west and north of the accident site.
The pickup truck had front-end damage. A nearby resident spotted two males leave the vehicle on foot, but the deputy couldn’t find them. The vehicle is registered to a Galva man with whom Stark County law-enforcement officials are familiar, according to the report.
• PRINCEVILLE – A man was taken to a Peoria hospital after he was found with head injuries at a Princeville business. About noon Jan. 3, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to Casey’s, 105 E. Spring St., where the 25-year-old man was stumbling and falling, according to a report.
The man’s name was redacted. Bystanders were attempting to help the man, but he was swinging at them, the report stated.
The man had swelling above his right eye and at the back of his head and was bleeding from his mouth. The deputy attempted to speak with him, but he was incoherent and smelled of alcohol, according to the report. An ambulance transported him to UnityPoint Health-Methodist for treatment.
• DUNLAP – A Princeville man lost consciousness after his vehicle struck a power pole west of Dunlap, according to authorities.
Gerald A. Dwyer was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado about 7:15 p.m. Dec. 22 east on Legion Hall Road west of Feucht Road when he saw powerlines hanging in the roadway, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. In attempting to avoid the powerlines, Dwyer drove the vehicle off the road.
The Ameren-owned pole was on the south side of the pavement. Dwyer sustained head and facial injuries and was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. The Silverado sustained passenger-side bumper damage and was to be towed.
• ALTONA – A Williamsfield-area man avoided injury in a head-on collision east of Altona. The accident happened about 6:45 a.m. Dec. 14 in the 1700 block of Knox Highway 4.
Bruce W. Bouchez Jr., 36, was driving a westbound 2001 Chevrolet Silverado that was parked on the eastbound side of the roadway. An eastbound 2023 Volkswagen Super Beetle driven by Defenbaugh J. Defenbaugh, 18, of Kirkwood struck the Silverado as it was parked.
A trailer was attached to the Silverado and Bouchez was retrieving garbage at the time of the accident, per a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. Defenbaugh was uninjured. Both vehicles were towed.
• PRINCEVILLE – A two-vehicle accident in Princeville resulted in a Mapleton woman being transported to a Peoria hospital for observation.
The accident happened shortly before 10 a.m. Nov. 8 at Spring Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report filed recently. A 2013 Subaru wagon driven by Gina C. Edwards collided with a 2014 Freightliner truck driven by Jefferey E. Bassham of Peoria.
Edwards was stopped on Cottage Grove Avenue and didn’t realize there was no stop sign for traffic on Spring Street, the report stated. Her vehicle was missing its front bumper. An ambulance carried Edwards to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.
Bassham’s truck sustained minor front-bumper damage and an antifreeze leak. Bassham appeared uninjured. Both vehicles were towed.
• PRINCEVILLE – Zachary D. Poole, 28, of Princeville was arrested at 9 p.m. Jan. 5 and accused of theft of less than $500/prior conviction, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• PRINCEVILLE – Justin J. Juarez, 32, of Princeville was arrested at 10:45 a.m. Jan. 4 and accused of violating an order of protection, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
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