NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police Reports
• DOUGLAS – A fire that destroyed a recreational vehicle in Douglas might have been set intentionally, authorities suggested.
The fire outside a residence in the 500 block of Third St. was reported about 10:30 p.m. Oct. 11. When a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived, he found firefighters from the Elba-Salem and Elmwood departments dousing the blaze.
A neighbor provided surveillance footage that revealed a sedan pulled onto the property about 10:10 p.m. and parked on the east side of the RV, according to a sheriff’s-office report. In the ensuing 15 minutes, the vehicle left to the north, smoke began to emit from the RV and it exploded into flames.
The RV belonged to former resident Patrick E. Swartz, 58, according to the property owner, a Yates City man. In 2019, Swartz was convicted in Peoria County of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and received probation, which was revoked earlier this year, according to court records.
Since March, Swartz has been incarcerated at Taylorville Correctional Center on a 4½-year sentence. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal is investigating the RV blaze.
• PRINCEVILLE – An alleged bacon-related dispute at a Princeville residence resulted in the arrest of a 47-year-old man.
Christopher M. Colvin of Princeville was accused of domestic battery following the incident, which happened about 8 p.m. Oct. 17 in the 100 block of W. South St.
A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was approaching the residence to inquire about a lost dog when through a window he saw Colvin appear to push a 42-year-old woman against a wall, a report stated. Afterward, the victim was bleeding from her mouth. Akron-Princeville paramedics evaluated her.
When the deputy asked Colvin what happened, he said: “We were arguing because she likes her bacon crispy and I like mine chewy.” Colvin was transported to the Peoria County Jail. The deputy also arrested Colvin and the victim April 13, both for domestic battery, according to the report.
• FARMINGTON – A rural-Farmington man said he pursued someone who stole from his residence a utility-task vehicle, according to authorities.
The incident happened about 4:45 a.m. Sept. 30 in the 50 block of Knox Road 2300 East. The 60-year-old victim said he was awake and brewing coffee when he saw two unidentified vehicles at the end of his driveway, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. Then he saw someone drive away the UTV.
The victim got into his 2003 Ford Ranger pickup truck and chased the UTV, which he tracked down about a mile north of his residence. He nudged the UTV with his vehicle after he yelled at the driver to stop. The UTV flipped on its passenger side. Its driver then ran into nearby woods, the report stated.
A Farmington police K9 officer sought the UTV driver, reported to be a male, to no avail. The victim’s pickup was damaged and towed, and the UTV was transported to the victim’s residence. A deputy found two cellphones in and around the abandoned UTV. No additional suspect information was available.
• PRINCEVILLE – A rear-end collision east of Princeville resulted in two people transported to a Peoria hospital.
The accident happened about 5:45 p.m. Oct. 10 in the 7100 block of Illinois Route 90, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. Justine M. Boswell was driving east in a 2016 Ford Explorer when it struck a stopped 2020 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Christina L. Brown. Drivers’ hometowns were unavailable.
Brown’s vehicle was stopped with others behind a semi-trailer truck that pulled off the road, according to the report. Boswell was unhurt, but Brown and a female passenger had neck and back injuries and were taken to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Both vehicles sustained severe damage and were towed.
• KICKAPOO – A motorcyclist required hospital attention after a two-vehicle collision west of Kickapoo.
James R. Myers was aboard a 2006 Harley-Davidson headed west about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the 12200 block of U.S. Route 150 when an eastbound 2005 Chevrolet Silverado struck the motorcycle.
The pickup driver was William F. Heinz, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Drivers’ hometowns were unavailable. Heinz said an oncoming vehicle caused him to swerve off the road to the right, then he overcorrected into the westbound lane. Myers said he had no memory of the crash.
An ambulance transported Myers to an unspecified hospital, where his injuries were not deemed serious.
• DAHINDA – A two-vehicle accident near Oak Run resulted in an 18-year-old Dahinda woman cited for driving too fast for conditions.
At 8 a.m. Oct. 3, Truley L. Dillon was driving a 2000 Toyota Tundra south in the 1700 block of Knox Highway 12 when the vehicle struck the rear of a southbound 1990 Peterbilt dump truck. Its driver was Roger B. Potter, 45, of Wyoming, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.
Dillon’s vehicle crossed at least partially into the northbound lane just before the accident. Dillon said she didn’t know if Potter was stopped or continuing south, the report stated. Potter said he was slowing to turn east into a parking lot at Oak Run Golf Course.
The driver of a semi-trailer truck headed north on Highway 12 veered onto the shoulder to avoid a second collision, according to witnesses. Dillon and Potter refused medical treatment. Dillon’s vehicle was towed.
• EDWARDS – Someone vandalized a roadside mailbox east of Edwards, according to authorities.
The damage took place between 9 p.m. Oct. 17 and 7 a.m. Oct. 18 outside a residence in the 5400 block of Heinz Lane. The white-metal mailbox had been flattened on top, as if a bat hit it, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The mailbox stand was intact.
Damage was estimated at $100. No suspect information was available.
• PRINCEVILLE – A Princeville-area woman didn’t require medical attention after she drove her vehicle into a ditch.
Sharron M. Hougham was behind the wheel of a westbound 2017 Buick Verano about 8 p.m. Sept. 3 in the 11000 block of W. Parks School Rd. when she missed a turn into a gravel driveway. She said the sun was in her eyes, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
The vehicle didn’t require a tow but was removed from the ditch and parked on the driveway.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – Shaun M. Marksity, 48, of Williamsfield was arrested about 10 a.m. Oct. 10 on a Knox County warrant for retail theft under $300, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. Marksity was transported to the Knox County Jail in Galesburg, where he needed to pay 10% of a $4,500 bond to be released. As of last week, Marksity was not in custody, per jail records.
• HANNA CITY – Penny J. Huber, 46, of Hanna City was arrested shortly before 6 p.m. Oct. 17 and accused of failure to appear in court, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. Huber also was being held for another law-enforcement agency.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Oct. 8-14: suspicious vehicle, La Fayette; other public service, Williamsfield; structure fire, Douglas; suspicious vehicle, Yates City; dispute, Williamsfield; other public complaint, Williamsfield.
Marriage licenses
• Stacy Lynn Boyd and Bryan Lamar Reising, both of Yates City.
• Patricia Ann Hightower and James Kenneth Baer, both of Elmwood.
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