NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• ELMWOOD – A Yates City man was accused of spending $350 in counterfeit money at an Elmwood business.
The transaction took place shortly after 8 p.m. Dec. 8 at Dollar General, 812 W. Main St. A man later identified at 36-year-old Chance D. Blankers handed the cashier the money to recharge his mobile-payment account, according to an Elmwood Police Department report.
Later, the cashier and store manager realized the three $100 bills and a $50 bill were fakes. Elmwood and Yates City officers tracked down Blankers at his residence, where he was arrested Dec. 13.
Blankers said he received the money in a Facebook Marketplace transaction but wasn’t home when it happened and couldn’t identify the purchaser, the report stated. He was cited for fraud, forgery and counterfeiting and is to appear Jan. 24 in Peoria County Circuit Court.
• ELMWOOD – An Elmwood man admitted he grabbed a woman by the throat and forced her onto a bed at a residence north of town.
The domestic dispute happened about 9:30 a.m. Dec. 26 in the 12200 block of Illinois Route 78, according to a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Jake A. Callister, 28, said he was attempting to inspect the 30-year-old victim’s cellphone. A scuffle reportedly ensued.
Callister was accused of domestic battery/bodily harm and transported to the Peoria County Jail. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified because five juveniles were present during the altercation, according to the report.
• KICKAPOO – No injuries were reported following a two-vehicle crash west of Kickapoo.
Shortly before 9 a.m. Dec. 26, Edward J. Dole of Cambridge was driving a garbage truck with one passenger east on U.S. Route 150 when he signaled for a left turn at Philander Chase Lane, per a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
An eastbound 2023 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck attempted to pass the garbage truck and collided with its front driver’s-side corner. The other driver was Ronald Draper of Brimfield. He said he believed Dole activated his warning flashers and was pulling over to the right.
The pickup truck sustained disabling damage to its passenger side and was towed. The garbage truck’s driver’s-side door, cab and front bumper were damaged, but the vehicle was drivable. Draper was cited for improper passing. He passed two other vehicles behind the garbage truck, according to a witness.
• KICKAPOO – A domestic disturbance at a residence north of Kickapoo resulted in the arrest of a Princeville woman.
Victoria E. Hawkins, 47, was accused of hitting two men multiple times with her fists and a cup, a Peoria County Sheriff’s report stated. The incident took place about 4:15 p.m. Dec. 24 in the 11100 block of N. Evans Mill Rd. The victims were 50 and 21.
Hawkins was transported to the Peoria County Jail and was booked for domestic battery/bodily harm.
• ELMWOOD – An Elmwood man was arrested on a domestic-battery charge in connection with an incident at a local residence.
The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office was summoned about 10 p.m. Dec. 23 to the 200 block of N. Knox St. A report about the incident was heavily redacted, but it involved Joshua R. Bateman, 32, as well as a 24-year-old woman and their 10-day-old child.
According to the report, the woman accused Bateman of attempting to take the child without her permission. Bateman was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• OAK HILL – A Farmington woman and two children required hospital attention following a two-vehicle accident on a foggy morning east of Oak Hill.
Amanda T. Gilles was driving a 2014 Buick Encore about 5:45 p.m. Dec. 23 on westbound Illinois Route 8 when her vehicle collided with a 2020 Ram 2500 pickup truck headed the same direction, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The pickup-truck driver was Robert W. Harris of Peoria.
Gilles said she thought Harris activated his right-turn signal at Texas Road, so she attempted to pass him. Instead, Harris turned left, and the vehicles collided. Harris said he activated his left-turn signal; no right turn is possible at the Texas Road intersection. Visibility at the time was about 50 feet, the report stated.
Medical personnel evaluated Harris, who declined additional attention. The two children, a boy and a girl, appeared uninjured, but Gilles complained about chest discomfort. All three were transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed.
• FARMINGTON – A Farmington man was accused of disorderly conduct after police visited his residence three times within two hours because of noise complaints.
Walter P. Albrecht, 71, was scheduled to appear late last month in Fulton County Circuit Court regarding incidents that took place between about 8:45 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 14 at an apartment complex in the 700 block of E. Court St.
Farmington police issued Albrecht public-nuisance citations during the first visit and the second, at about 10:15 p.m. According to police reports, a neighbor complained twice about Albrecht playing music too loud. The total fine was $150.
Shortly after the second visit, the neighbor called police and said Albrecht banged on a wall between his and her apartments so hard it made her jump and believe the wall was collapsing, per a report. Neighbors saw Albrecht hit the wall.
• KICKAPOO – Police arrested a Kewanee man found lying on the pavement at a Kickapoo intersection after he allegedly choked and punched his father while they were in a moving vehicle.
Detric L. Howell, 40, was breathing but not alert when first responders discovered him shortly after 3 a.m. Dec. 17 at U.S. Route 150 and Kickapoo-Edwards Road.
A 61-year-old woman who contacted the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office said she, Howell and a 65-year-old man were returning home from a Christmas party in Peoria. Howell became belligerent and attacked the man, according to a sheriff’s-office report.
The woman stopped the vehicle, which Howell exited. She drove the victim to a Kewanee hospital, where he was treated for injuries. His face was bruised and swollen, and blood was crusted on his nostrils and mouth, the report stated.
Howell was transported and admitted to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was charged with domestic battery and is to appear Jan. 24 in Peoria County Circuit Court.
• BELLEVUE – Drivers from Farmington were involved in a two-vehicle crash in Bellevue. The accident occurred about 2:45 p.m. Dec. 14 in the 4900 block of Plank Road.
A 2007 Mercury Mariner driven by Scott E. Thompson collided with the rear of a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Jeremy T. Mentzer, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Thompson, Mentzer and a female passenger in his vehicle declined medical treatment, although she complained about neck pain. Both vehicles were towed.
• GALESBURG – No injuries were reported in a two-vehicle accident at the southeast edge of Galesburg that involved a Williamsfield man. Shortly before 7:30 a.m. Dec. 11, Austin D. Cirrincione, 24, was driving a 2004 Buick LeSabre east on Knox Highway 10 when the vehicle sideswiped an eastbound 2021 Jeep Compass and landed in a ditch south of the intersection with Knox Road 600 East, a Knox County
Sheriff’s Office report stated.
The Compass driver, 59-year-old Susan M. Tracy of Aledo, said she was turning north onto Knox Road 600 East when the LeSabre clipped the passenger-side rear wheel of her vehicle. Cirrincione said he didn’t realize Tracy was turning left.
Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed. Cirrincione was cited for driving too fast for conditions.
• HANNA CITY – Shortly before 9 p.m. Dec. 15, Sydnee E. Barton of Farmington was driving a westbound 2018 Chevrolet Malibu in the 11000 block W. Smithville Rd. south of Hanna City when the vehicle struck a deer. The vehicle sustained front driver’s-side and quarter-panel damage but was drivable. The deer was not located.
• ELMWOOD – Stephen D. Wiebler, 33, of Elmwood was arrested at 2:45 a.m. Dec. 29 and accused of domestic battery/physical contact, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• BRIMFIELD – Ryan L. Jackson, 21, of Brimfield was arrested shortly before 6 p.m. Dec. 27 and accused of criminal damage to government property between $500 and $10,000, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• PRINCEVILLE – Ronald L. Potter Jr., 37, of Princeville was arrested about 11:15 p.m. Dec. 19 and accused of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Dec. 10-23: disturbance, Yates City; driving complaint, Dahinda; two animals in the road, Dahinda; trespass, Dahinda; theft, Dahinda; burglary, Yates City; damage, Dahinda; road hazard, Dahinda; abandoned vehicle, Dahinda.
11-21-24
11-22-24
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