The Weekly Post public record for 7-31-25

NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• PRINCEVILLE – Law-enforcement authorities were searching for an apparent reckless driver whose vehicle collided with another south of Princeville.
The wreck at Princeville-Jubilee and Parks School roads was reported about 9:30 p.m. July 5, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The victims – a 62-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, both from Wyoming – said they weren’t injured.
A Kia sport-utility vehicle headed east on Parks School Road failed to stop at the intersection and T-boned the victims’ vehicle, a 2011 Buick Lucerne that was northbound on Princeville-Jubilee Road. The impact spun that vehicle 180 degrees. The SUV continued east with its hazard lights activated.
Subsequently, another person told authorities an eastbound SUV on Parks School Road almost hit him while he was riding a side-by-side. One of the SUV’s headlights was missing. The Lucerne sustained major damage to the driver’s-side rear door, rear wheel, rear fender and rear bumper and was towed.
• TRIVOLI – A faulty riding lawnmower might have caused a fire that destroyed a barn west of Trivoli.
The blaze began shortly before 4:30 p.m. July 6 in the 20900 block of Illinois Route 116, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. A deputy arrived to find the barn fully engulfed in flames.
A 49-year-old man owns the property. He said he had just finished mowing the yard and backed the mower into the barn. He spent the next 20 minutes or so unloading his camper, then looked out one of its windows and saw flames around the mower, the report stated.
The fuel-line valve on the mower had been malfunctioning, the owner said. The barn appeared to be a total loss. Firefighters from the Elmwood, Farmington and Logan-Trivoli departments responded.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City man was charged with two counts of aggravated battery following an apparent fight at a local residence.
The incident happened about 2:15 a.m. July 8 in the 200 block of N. Pekin Lane, according to a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Mitchell K. Wileman, 38, was arrested and transported to the Peoria County Jail. He possessed a knife when he was apprehended, the report indicated.
At least one person was transported to Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria.
Taken into custody were Malayah R. Drowns, 18, of Bartonville; Ayden M. Fowler, 19, of Pekin; Russell R. Jones, 18, of East Peoria; and Brianna S. Shrum, 19, of Bellevue. Accusations were not specified individually, although illegal possession of alcohol and a controlled substance were listed in the report.
• KICKAPOO – Someone drove away from a Kickapoo-area gasoline station without paying for more than $200 in diesel fuel, according to authorities.
The apparent theft from Freedom Oil Co., 7200 N. Kickapoo-Edwards Rd., was reported shortly before 4:30 p.m. July 7. An employee said the driver of a white semi-trailer pumped $225.02 of gas into the truck, then left in an unknown direction, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.
No description of the driver was available, and additional searching was fruitless.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City man was suspected of public indecency and disorderly conduct following an incident at his residence but was released without charge.
The 57-year-old suspect’s name was among numerous redactions in a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. He was taken into custody shortly after 8:15 a.m. July 2 in the 500 block of N. Lakeshore Drive.
According to the report, a sheriff’s-office deputy was summoned to a residence in the 300 block of N. Lakeshore Drive regarding a welfare check. A witness reported a man was outside the residence with a golf club and a bow and arrow and was acting erratically.
When law enforcement arrived, all the doors of the residence were open. The house appeared to be in disarray consistent with someone experiencing mental-health issues, the report stated.
The man was transported to Carle Health Methodist Hospital in Peoria for observation.
• LAWN RIDGE – A vehicle apparently ran off the road near Lawn Ridge, struck a mailbox and destroyed it.
The damage in front of a residence in the 100 block of E. County Line Rd. was reported shortly before 10 a.m. July 10, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The resident said the incident happened between 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Pieces of the mailbox and its post were found about one-quarter mile east of the residence. Tire tracks indicated a vehicle struck them. The mailbox and post were valued at $150.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City man required a hospital visit following a two-vehicle accident south of his hometown.
Dennis R. Dunn was driving a northbound 2021 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck at 7 a.m. July 8 in the 1500 block of Hanna City-Glasford Rd. when it entered the opposite lane and collided with a southbound 2008 Ford Taurus, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Jerel S. Peters of Trivoli was the other driver. He said he attempted to reverse when he saw the Silverado headed his way. The Silverado struck a utility pole and continued to head north, although the report was unclear about the sequence of events.
Dunn was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. A nurse there said Dunn has a history of seizures. The Silverado sustained disabling front-end damage and was towed. Peters declined medical help. The Taurus was drivable after it sustained minor front-end damage.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City-area man was arrested following an apparent domestic dispute.
A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office deputy was called shortly after 5:15 a.m. July 5 to a residence in the 500 block of S. Pinkerton Rd. A man there said his girlfriend was refusing to leave and had assaulted him, according to a heavily redacted sheriff’s-office report.
Matthew A. Baior, 42, was taken into custody instead. He was accused of domestic battery and transported to the Peoria County Jail. The victim was a 34-year-old Hanna City woman. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified.
• FARMINGTON – A Hanna City-area woman was accused of multiple vehicle-related offenses following a traffic stop in Farmington.
Desiray K. Bledsoe, 23, was driving a westbound 2016 Ford Escape a Farmington police officer pulled over shortly after 6:45 p.m. July 4 on Fort Street near East Street. Bledsoe’s vehicle was traveling 48 mph in a 35-mph zone, according to a police report.
A check revealed Bledsoe’s driver’s license was suspended for financial reasons. She was cited for speeding and for driving with a suspended license and received a notice to appear in Fulton County Circuit Court in Lewistown.

KICKAPOO – A Peoria woman was accused of stealing $100 in cash from a business located inside a Kickapoo-area gasoline station.
Tonya S. Luncsford, 51, was arrested shortly after 5:15 p.m. July 4 at Freedom Oil Co., 7200 N. Kickapoo-Edwards Rd. A Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report about the incident was heavily redacted, but the apparent victim was Hunt Brothers Pizza.
Luncsford was charged with theft.

EDELSTEIN – An apparent domestic dispute at an Edelstein-area residence resulted in the arrest of two people.
The incident happened about 3:15 p.m. July 4 to the 1600 block of W. Singing Woods Rd. Transported to the Peoria County Jail were Richard J. Davis, 48, and Stephanie M. Luzolo, 27.
Davis was accused of domestic battery/bodily harm. Luzolo was accused of the same crime, as well as criminal damage to property of less than $500. Noted in a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report was possible damage to a 1987 Chevrolet coupe and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

VICTORIA – A Princeville man required a hospital stay after he struck his head on a boat dock and fell into a lake near Victoria.
The incident happened about 3:30 p.m. June 30 on Lake McMaster at Snakeden Hollow State Fish and Wildlife Area, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.
Ricky D. Pope, whose age was unavailable, was attempting to disembark from a boat when it began to drift from the dock and he fell. A 17-year-old boy who was operating the boat jumped into the water and pulled Pope onto a boat ramp. The boy said Pope lost consciousness twice in the process.
An ambulance transported Pope to OSF Saint Mary Medical Center in Galesburg, where he was admitted for overnight observation.

HAVANA – Adam L. Johnson of Brimfield was cited for an unspecified offense shortly before 6 a.m. June 24 at U.S. Route 136 and Illinois Route 78 west of Havana, according to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office. Johnson was driving a 2021 Nissan, according to a redacted sheriff’s-office report. The sheriff’s office would not provide additional information.

ELMWOOD – Shortly before 7:45 a.m. July 8, Madison S. Hickman, 21, of Maquon was driving an eastbound 2016 Chevrolet Equinox in the 20200 block of Illinois Route 8 east of Elmwood when the vehicle struck a deer. No injuries to Hickman were noted on an Elmwood police report. The vehicle sustained passenger-side front-end damage of at least $1,500.

TRIVOLI – Darren M. McClister, 59, of Trivoli was arrested shortly before 1:30 p.m. July 8 and accused of indirect criminal contempt, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. McClister also was being held for another law-enforcement agency. McClister was arrested again at 8:45 a.m. July 9 and accused of driving on a suspended license.

ELMWOOD – Jessie J. Elderidge, 41, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. July 13 and accused of two counts of retail theft of greater than $300, theft-control intent of less than $500, unlawful use of a credit or debit card and failure to appear in court, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

BRIMFIELD – Ryan L. Jackson, 23, of Brimfield was arrested at 12:45 p.m. July 4 and accused of failure to appear in court, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.

YATES CITY – Chief Randy Benson reported the following Yates City Police Department activity for June: one arrest, 18 reports, five traffic stops, three citations, four warnings and one notice to appear in court.

GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between June 29-July 12: road hazard, Dahinda; burglary, Yates City; fireworks, Williamsfield; theft, Dahinda; trespass, Galva; fireworks, Dahinda; open door, Yates City; disturbance, Galva; order-of-protection violation, Galva; road hazard, Williamsfield; driving complaint, Williamsfield; noise complaint, Dahinda.