The Weekly Post public record for 1-16-25

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports

• ELMWOOD – An Elmwood woman was found dead in her backyard, an apparent cold-weather exposure victim.

Darci A. Coursey, 44, was lying on the ground and unresponsive when fire and law-enforcement personnel arrived about 2:30 p.m. Sunday at her residence in the 400 block of W. Mound St., according to an Elmwood Police Department report. The Peoria County Coroner’s Office pronounced Coursey dead shortly thereafter.
The preliminary report from an autopsy performed Monday cited cold exposure as Coursey’s cause of death. Coursey was clad in a T-shirt, pajama pants and stockings when she was found. It wasn’t clear how long she had been outside.

Alcohol and blunt-force head and neck injuries from a fall were contributing factors, according to the coroner’s office. Toxicology is pending.

• ELMWOOD – Additional criminal accusations have been made against an Elmwood man who was arrested following an alleged gun-firing incident at his residence.

Christopher R. Coulter, 27, was charged with violating an order of protection, criminal damage to property less than $500 and theft-control intent less than $500, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

Coulter has been in the Peoria County Jail since he was arrested Dec. 21, when he was accused of shooting a gun from the rear of a residence in the 200 block of N. Daniels St. He was expected to appear this week in Peoria County Circuit Court.

Peoria Heights law-enforcement authorities added the order-of-protection charge following Coulter’s arrest, according to Peoria County Sheriff Chris Watkins. Those charges stem from an incident in August in the Heights.

• PEORIA – Elmwood and Hanna City men were among three arrested following a fight during a New Year’s Eve party at a Peoria hotel.

Police were summoned about 3:30 a.m. Jan. 1 to Country Inn & Suites, 5309 W. Landens Way. There they found a male victim lying on a bed in a third-floor room. His face was bruised and scratched and his mouth was covered in blood, according to a heavily redacted Peoria Police Department report.

Accounts differ as to what happened. Transported to the Peoria County Jail were Rowdy G. Eldridge, 20, of Elmwood; Christopher T. Harn, 21, of East Peoria; and Cash D. VanDyke, 20, of Hanna City. All three were accused of aggravated battery and mob action.

Eldridge and Harn also were transported to Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria. Eldridge was treated for a bruised elbow and Harn was treated for a fractured hand.

• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City man was arrested following a domestic-battery report at an area residence.
The incident took place about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 30 in the 5500 block of S. Hanna City-Glasford Rd., according to a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Nicolas J. Contreras, 18, was accused of domestic battery/bodily harm and transported to the Peoria County Jail.

Contreras was charged with domestic battery/bodily harm. The victim is from Hanna City, as is a witness. Advanced Medical Transport and Logan-Trivoli firefighters also responded.

• HANNA CITY – A Peoria man reported no injuries after he backed his vehicle into another that was parked in the lot of a Hanna City convenience store.

Michael L. Leatherwood was behind the wheel of a 2010 Mercury Mountain that sustained minor right-rear-taillight damage about 4 p.m. Dec. 27 at Casey’s, 13023 W. Farmington Rd. The vehicle had multiple damages from a previous accident, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.

The parked vehicle, a 2016 Kia Sorento, belonged to a Casey’s employee who was not identified in the report. The Sorento sustained a small dent above its left-side rear-tire well. Leatherwood was cited for operating an uninsured vehicle.

• HANNA CITY – A Peoria man was wanted in an alleged aggravated assault that took place Christmas Day at a Hanna City-area residence.

A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 25 to the 100 block of S. Eden Rd., according to a heavily redacted report. The apparent victim is from Hanna City. A knife was involved. No other information was available.

• FARMINGTON – Someone used a rock to smash a window on a vehicle parked east of Farmington, according to authorities.

The apparent vandalism was reported about 12:45 a.m. Dec. 21 in the 1100 block of N. Cramer Rd. The driver’s-side rear window of the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze sedan was broken, and an apparently rock-made mark was evident on the driver’s-side front window, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.

Damage took place sometime after 10:45 p.m. Dec. 20. The vehicle owner is from Metamora, according to the report. Window replacements were estimated at $160 each.

• APPLETON – A tire that fell off an Oak Run man’s pickup truck struck a fence in front of a residence south of Appleton and scattered significant debris.

Peter A. Williams, 61, was driving the eastbound Dodge pickup truck about 6 p.m. Dec. 17 in the 1400 block of U.S. Route 150 when the accident happened, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. Damaged were three 8-foot sections of white-vinyl fence, three fenceposts and three post caps.

Williams said he didn’t want to scare the 62-year-old property owner because it was dark outside, so he didn’t attempt to contact her or enter her yard. A deputy found the wheel about 50 feet from the roadway. Property damage was estimated at $500. The vehicle was towed.

• HANNA CITY – Shortly before 5:45 p.m. Dec. 30, Angela M. Wallace of Hanna City was driving a westbound 2020 Toyota Camry in the 9300 block of W. Smithville Rd. when the vehicle struck a deer. Wallace complained about difficulty breathing but refused additional treatment after first responders checked her, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle was driven from the scene.

• MONICA – At 8 a.m. Dec. 27, Isabel M. Spears of Princeville was driving a westbound 2021 Chevrolet Blazer in the 12500 block of W. Parks School Rd. when the vehicle struck a deer. Neither Spears nor her female passenger were injured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle sustained damage but was drivable.

• EDWARDS – Shortly after 5:30 p.m. Dec. 21, Sarah L. Watt of Peoria was driving a westbound 2010 Chrysler Town & Country minivan in the 13100 block of Illinois Route 8 west of Edwards when the vehicle struck a deer. Watt was uninjured, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The minivan was drivable, although it sustained damage.

• DAHINDA – Shortly after 10 p.m. Dec. 17, Sandra K. Frakes, 64, of Roseville was driving a 2005 Buick LeSabre east on U.S. Route 150 at Knox Highway 15 south of Dahinda when the vehicle struck a deer. Frakes was uninjured, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle was damaged but operable.
• HANNA CITY – Charles V. Stear, 49, of Hanna City was arrested shortly after 4:15 p.m. Jan. 4 and accused of 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 Dec. 22-28: suspicious vehicle, Yates City; theft, Galva; burglary, Galva; burglar alarm, Dahinda; driving complaint, Williamsfield.