NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• BRIMFIELD – A Brimfield teenager was accused of tossing a cat from a speeding vehicle. The cat was killed. The 16-year-old boy also was accused of creating a social-media video of the incident, on April 22 in the 19300 block of U.S. Route 150 west of Brimfield, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
Peoria County Animal Protective Services alerted the sheriff’s office April 23 regarding a dead cat in the roadway. Simultaneously, the sheriff’s office was made aware of a Snapchat video that showed the boy throwing the cat through a vehicle’s open window.
Witnesses shared the video with deputies. The witnesses said the cat belonged to someone who moved out of the country. The suspect received the cat from a mutual friend and was asked to get rid of it, according to the sheriff’s office, which decided not to release the video to the public.
During an interview April 24 with detectives, the boy admitted to throwing the cat from the vehicle while driving and recording. He was charged with cruelty to animals and depiction of animal cruelty. As of last week, he was being held at the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center.
• FARMINGTON – A traffic stop in Farmington resulted in a Stark County woman’s arrest for multiple illicit-drug crimes.
Lezlie A. Dowds, 35, of Wyoming was a passenger in a 2021 Nissan Rogue a Farmington police officer stopped about 11:45 p.m. April 19 at Fort and Poplar streets. The vehicle’s taillights weren’t functioning, according to a police report.
The officer discovered Dowds was wanted on two Tazewell County warrants. A small amount of cannabis and a hitter pipe were found in Dowds’ purse. So was a clear jar that contained 7 grams of a white, crystal substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Also found in the purse was a glass pipe with burned residue, as well as a syringe that contained a dark liquid that tested positive for meth. A white, crystal substance was found in and/or on a broken glass pipe, a metal container and a plastic container – all in the purse, the report stated.
Dowds was charged with two counts of possession of meth and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. The driver, 46-year-old Charles R. Gathard of Peoria, was cited for driving without taillights and driving with a revoked license.
Gathard is to appear May 17 in Fulton County Circuit Court. The vehicle was impounded. Dowds was transported to the Fulton County Jail.
• OAK RUN – No injuries were reported in a single-vehicle accident near Oak Run. Marissa L. Bloomgren, 22, of Dahinda was driving a southbound 2019 Ford Escape about 4:30 p.m. April 20 in the 1600 block of Knox Highway 12 when the vehicle failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle left the east side of the pavement and landed in a field.
An ambulance crew evaluated Bloomgren, who said she wasn’t injured, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. She said she didn’t know what happened. Her vehicle sustained moderate front-end damage and was towed.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – A Williamsfield man involved in a single-vehicle accident south of his hometown reported minor injuries.
Shortly before 6 p.m. April 16, Waylon D. Courson, 19, was driving an eastbound 2012 Chevrolet Malibu on Knox Road 1100 North east of Knox Highway 18 when he swerved to miss an animal in the road. The vehicle left the north side of the pavement, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. The vehicle struck a power pole, sustained disabling damage and was towed.
• FARMINGTON – A 14-year-old boy was accused of stealing alcohol from a Farmington convenience store. The boy took two four-packs of 1-ounce shots of Platinum 7X Vodka about 6 p.m. April 16 from Circle K, 1006 E. Fort St., according to a Farmington police report. When an officer attempted to stop the boy, he ran away but was detained eventually.
According to the report, the boy said he dropped the bottles in a nearby cornfield but later admitted to drinking one of them. His blood-alcohol content was measured at .036. The legal limit is .08.
The boy was charged with retail theft, illegal possession of alcohol by a minor and illegal consumption of alcohol. He also was banned from the store for seven years.
• KICKAPOO – Shortly after 5:30 a.m. April 10, Deken A. Glenzinski of Princeville was driving a 2017 Honda Civic south on Princeville-Jubilee Road at Grange Hall Road north of Kickapoo when the vehicle struck a dead deer on the pavement. No injuries were reported, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The front bumper was damaged.
• TRIVOLI – Darren M. McClister, 58, of Trivoli was arrested shortly before 7 a.m. April 23 and accused of two counts of operating an uninsured motor vehicle and two counts of driving on a suspended license, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. McClister also was being held for another law-enforcement agency.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between April 14-20: two suspicious-vehicle cases, Yates City; burglary, Douglas; two domestic disputes, Yates City; threats, Yates City; theft, Dahinda.
Marriage license
• Kelly Jo Adele Mayer of Elmwood and Aaron John Moran of Osco.