The Weekly Post public record for 4-16-26

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

• YATES CITY – A traffic stop in Yates City resulted in a local man’s arrest for failure to appear in court regarding a drugs-related case.

Chance D. Blankers, 38, was driving a northbound GMC pickup truck when a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled it over around 8 a.m. March 23 on Kellogg Street near Ames Street. The truck’s rear license plate bore an expired sticker, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

A check revealed Blankers was wanted in Fulton County, where he was charged in 2025 with possession of drug paraphernalia. Blankers was transported to the Knox County Jail in Galesburg. He also received warnings for driving with suspended registration and no proof of insurance.

• HANNA CITY – The fire a Hanna City man set in a pit in his yard spread to a neighbor’s shed.
The fire was reported about 2:15 p.m. March 20. It destroyed a boat and motor in the shed, located in the backyard at 426 E. Lakeshore Drive, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Several bicycles in the shed were damaged.

A trail of charred grass led to the fire pit at 502 E. Lakeshore Drive. A man who resides there said he left about 2 p.m. to go to the bank and believed the fire was extinguished. He said he will reimburse his neighbors, a man and a woman.

Logan-Trivoli firefighters also responded.

• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City woman has been the victim of identity theft for more than a year, according to authorities.

The issue was reported shortly before 5 p.m. March 18 in the 12300 block of W. Farmington Rd., a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. Among the redactions was the suspect’s name.
A business in New York and a tire dealer in Peoria were mentioned. The problem dates from October 2024.

• KICKAPOO – About $5,000 worth of copper wire was reported stolen from a cellphone-tower site south of Kickapoo.

The apparent theft in the 10300 block of W. Civil Defense Rd. was reported about 2:45 p.m. March 18, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. A worker who was performing maintenance on the tower noticed about 100 pounds of wire were missing.

It had been about a year since anybody from the cellphone company was on the property, the worker said. Unless there is an outage, technicians visit only annually for maintenance. The wire was on the property during the previous visit.

• GILSON – An Elmwood man required hospital attention following a single-vehicle crash east of Gilson.
Sammy J. Eaves, 74, was driving a westbound 2024 Nissan Frontier pickup truck shortly before 2 p.m. March 18 in the 1400 block of Knox Highway 17 when it crossed the center line and struck a field entrance, a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report stated.

The pickup truck became airborne, struck an embankment, rolled twice and came to rest next to a ditch. Eaves said he was feeling ill before the accident, after which a passerby removed him from the vehicle.
An ambulance transported Eaves to OSF Saint Mary Medical Center in Galesburg for evaluation of suspected serious injuries. The pickup truck was towed.

• HANNA CITY – A Pekin man was accused of violating an order of protection. Truman E. Schuch, 40, was arrested March 18 regarding the incident, which happened about 8 a.m. Feb. 19 in the 3000 block of S. Turbett Rd., a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The victim was a 36-year-old Hanna City woman.

• TRIVOLI – A Trivoli man was swindled out of an unspecified amount of money, according to authorities. The incident was reported shortly after 8:45 a.m. March 17 in the 1500 block of N. Mayfield Court, a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The incident happened sometime between then and 9 a.m. March 11.

• ELMWOOD – No injuries were reported following a two-vehicle crash at an Elmwood intersection.
McKenzie N. Grohmann, 18, was driving a westbound 2013 Nissan Sentra at 8 a.m. March 17 on Ash Street and entered the intersection with Magnolia Street. Her vehicle then collided with a southbound 2026 Chevrolet Traverse sport-utility vehicle, an Elmwood police report stated.

Ashlee E. Stabler, 40, of Brimfield was the other driver. Grohmann said she didn’t see the SUV because of a vehicle parked near the intersection.

• YATES CITY – A Yates City-area man received threats from someone who purchased from him and his wife a vehicle that later broke down, according to authorities.

The incident was reported around 11:30 a.m. March 13, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The 48-year-old victim’s wife placed the vehicle, a 1993 Chrysler New Yorker, for sale for $2,000 on a Facebook page. The woman, 41, inherited the vehicle from a deceased parent.

On March 7, the woman drove the vehicle to the buyer’s Yates City address, where he paid her and took possession. About a week later, the suspect messaged the sellers from Canton, where he was stranded because of vehicle problems. He then started making threats, the report stated.

When a deputy visited the 72-year-old suspect, he was defensive and said he didn’t think he was threatening the victims. Initially they wanted to help him with the mechanical problems but decided against it for fear he’d be confrontational.

• ELMWOOD – Jesse J. Eldridge, 41, of Elmwood was arrested at 9 a.m. April 1 regarding a warrant for theft control intent of less than $500, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

• ELMWOOD – Lacey R. Zaerr, 32, of Elmwood was arrested at 11 a.m. March 26 and accused of failure to appear in court and of operating an uninsured motor vehicle, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

• ELMWOOD – Chief Aaron Bean reported the following Elmwood Police Department activity for March: one arrest, 12 traffic stops, 15 warnings, 16 reports and three ordinance violations.

• FARMINGTON – Chief Chris Darsham reported the following Farmington Police Department activity for March: 330 business checks, 3,291 building checks, four crashes handled, two property crimes, eight traffic tickets, one ordinance violation, four crimes against people, 10 miscellaneous, 31 traffic stops, four total arrests, 20 total reports, 350 total calls and 22 calls to assist other police departments.

• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between March 22-28: suspicious vehicle, Dahinda; domestic dispute, Yates City; threats, Dahinda; alarm, Farmington; two fires, Dahinda.