The Weekly Post public record for 5-4-23

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Jury trial scheduled for man accused of murder

• PEORIA – A jury trial is scheduled July 10 for a Peoria man accused of shooting and killing a woman from Princeville.

Walter J. Artis Jr. pleaded not guilty April 27 in Peoria County Circuit Court. Earlier, a grand jury indicted Artis on three counts of murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of home invasion in connection with the slaying of Alexis Boland.

Artis, 26, was arrested April 14 in Morton. Earlier that day, a witness claimed Artis shot 22-year-old Boland multiple times at a Dunlap apartment. Boland was pronounced dead April 16 at a Peoria hospital.

Boland had two young children. According to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office, Boland and Artis had children in common.

Artis is to appear in court again on June 29. He is being held in the Peoria County Jail on $2.5 million bond and must post $250,000 to be released.

Police reports

• MAQUON – A 5-year-old was recovering in a Peoria hospital following an all-terrain-vehicle accident April 29 on private property in the Maquon-Salem Township area.

A man and two children were posing for photographs on the ATV when the 5-year-old inadvertently grabbed its throttle, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. The ATV lunged into a nearby barbed-wire fence.

The 5-year-old sustained a neck laceration and was transported by helicopter to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. As of Sunday, the child was recovering well, according to the sheriff’s office.
The adult and the other child were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Representatives of BYE Ambulance Service, the Elba-Salem and Maquon fire protection districts and the sheriff’s office responded.

• BELLEVUE – A Brimfield man was accused of multiple crimes after 900 grams of cannabis products were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop. A 6-year-old boy was among the passengers.

Zachary D. Beintema, 38, was driving a black Chevrolet truck when a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled it over about 3:45 p.m. April 26 in the 300 block of S. Bellevue Ave. in Bellevue. A passenger wasn’t wearing a seat belt and the vehicle’s registration was suspended.

The deputy smelled burned and raw cannabis as he approached the vehicle, according to a sheriff’s-office report. A search revealed a digital scale, sandwich bags, cannabis wax, at least five bags of cannabis gummies and two bags of cannabis, among other items. The cannabis weighed 600 grams.

Beintema was transported to the Peoria County Jail. He was charged with possession of between 500 and 2,000 grams of cannabis, unlawful possession with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and endangering the life of a child.

Among four passengers, 30-year-old Antonio Rodriguez-Ruiz of Peoria was arrested on a Peoria County warrant for domestic battery.

The 6-year-old was released to the custody of a non-passenger adult. Deputies seized Beintema’s truck and $1,478 in cash.

• FARMINGTON – A helicopter transported a 9-year-old boy to a Peoria hospital following a two-vehicle collision east of Farmington.

The accident happened shortly before 5 p.m. April 24 at Farmington and Cramer roads. According to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report, Douglas L. Whitmer was driving a Chevrolet Malibu west on Farmington Road when it rear-ended a 2020 Dodge driven by Jennifer L. Anderson.

Anderson said she was stopped while waiting to turn south on Cramer Road. Whitmer said he didn’t see Anderson’s vehicle. Hometowns of all parties involved were not available.

The boy, a passenger in Whitmer’s vehicle, had a visible right-eye injury and a right lower-leg injury. Neither was life threatening, the sheriff’s office reported.

Anderson and Whitmer sustained head injuries. All were ferried to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Anderson and Whitmer by ambulance.

Both vehicles were too damaged to be driven and were towed. Whitmer was cited for failure to reduce speed, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and for two seat-belt violations, including failure to secure a child.

• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City man was taken into police custody after he made death threats, according to two witnesses.

William A. Tillman, 40, was accused of making the threats and swinging at another person at a residence in the 400 block of N. Carole Ave. Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputies were summoned there about 1:30 a.m. April 20.

The threats stemmed from an argument about a cellphone, according to a sheriff’s-office report. Tillman was charged with assault and given a notice to appear May 31 in Peoria County Circuit Court.

• PRINCEVILLE – Cocaine was found in the wallet of a Dunlap man arrested outside a Princeville bar on an outstanding warrant, authorities stated.

About 10 p.m. on April 14, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted a vehicle belonging to Zachary S. Worsley, 24, parked outside the bar in the 100 block of E. Main St. The deputy found Worsley inside, then transported him to the Peoria County Jail.

Worsley was wanted in connection with a 2019 Peoria County drunken-driving case, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

Once at the jail, the deputy found about 1 gram of white powder inside a clear plastic bag in Worsley’s wallet. Worsley first pleaded ignorance about what the powder was but eventually said it was coke, the report stated. Worsley was accused of possession of a controlled substance.

• PRINCEVILLE – Juveniles broke into the shuttered Princeville Aquatic Center, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident happened April 27 and the juveniles were talked to about it. No other details were available. The sheriff’s office cited the Illinois Juvenile Court Act in denying a request for a report about the incident.
Earlier this year, the Princeville Village Board voted to close the aquatic center immediately and permanently, in response to mounting financial deficits. Creation of a local park district has been suggested to possibly reopen the facility.

• HANNA CITY – At 2 a.m. April 17, Courtney R. Williams of Macomb was driving a westbound 2013 Dodge Caravan on Illinois Route 116 near Hanna City when the vehicle struck a deer. Williams was uninjured, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.

The vehicle had front-end damage to its grille and passenger-side headlight.

• HANNA CITY – Michael F. Roberts, 51, of Hanna City was arrested on April 20 for possession of methamphetamine, according to a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office report.

• FARMINGTON – Farmington Police Chief Chris Darsham reported the following activity for his department in April: 3,435 business checks, 254 total calls, 233 business checks, 35 traffic stops, 18 ordinance violations, 12 reports completed, 8 assists to other departments, 3 crashes handled, 3 property crimes, 3 arrests and 1 crimes against people.

Marriage license
• Mary Elizabeth DeVries and Andrew Elliott Naumann, both of Elmwood.