The Weekly Post public record for 8-28-25

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

• KICKAPOO – Someone impersonating a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office employee apparently tried to steal currency from a Kickapoo business, authorities stated.

The incident at Kickabrew Coffee Co., 9927 U.S. Route 150, was reported shortly after noon July 24, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

A caller identified himself as a sheriff’s-office employee who was investigating counterfeit bills. He asked the proprietor to empty his safe and place that money outside. The caller then would retrieve the cash.
The sheriff’s office was investigating. According to Sheriff Chris Watkins, his office would not contact a business for that purpose. He described the criminal tactic as new.

• KICKAPOO – No injuries were reported after a semi-trailer truck overturned on Interstate 74 south of Kickapoo shortly before 3:30 p.m. Aug. 9, according to the Illinois State Police. The Freightliner tractor-trailer was eastbound in the right lane near Kickapoo-Edwards Road when the driver lost control. The truck entered the median, overturned and landed on its side in the westbound lanes.

Both westbound lanes were blocked until about 8 p.m.

• VICTORIA – A Victoria-area man was accused of drunken driving after he was banned from an Oak Run business, according to authorities.

Frederick J. Meyer, 73, was driving a 2019 Ford pickup truck when a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped it about 8 p.m. Aug. 6 in the 1300 block of Illinois Route 167. He was weaving and driving well below the speed limit, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

Not long before, Meyer left Oak Run General Store, where two female employees complained to the deputy about the suspect’s behavior. Meyer’s blood-alcohol level after he was stopped was .260. The legal limit is .08.

The deputy first transported Meyer to OSF Saint Mary Medical Center in Galesburg, then to the Knox County Jail. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, improper lane use, illegal transportation of alcohol and having an expired vehicle-registration sticker.

Meyer was accused of DUI and illegal transportation of alcohol regarding an incident July 30 in the 1900 block of U.S. Route 34 near Galesburg, according to another sheriff’s-office report.

• TRIVOLI – A Trivoli-area convicted sex offender did not register his address with law-enforcement officials, they stated. Jacob A. Duhs, 38, was arrested about 10 a.m. Aug. 3 in the 100 block of High Oak Rd. in East Peoria, according to a redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. The sheriff’s office was alerted about three hours earlier from a residence near Trivoli.

Duhs was transported to the Peoria County Jail. He first registered as a sex offender in 2012 following a conviction in Florida, according to the Illinois State Police.

• ELMWOOD – Nobody seems to know how a vehicle came to block a road west of Elmwood, according to authorities.

The hazard was reported about 11:30 a.m. Aug. 1 in the 2300 block of Illinois Route 8, a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The driver’s side of the 1980s-era Chevrolet Caprice blocked the eastbound lane. A sign on the vehicle stated it was out of gasoline and fuel was being sought in Yates City.

A check revealed the license plates belonged to a 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck registered to an area man. The vehicle-identification number on the Caprice was traced to an owner in Berwyn, near Chicago. He could not be reached. The area man said he had junked the vehicle to which the plates belonged.

Later, a Yates City man notified the sheriff’s office that the Caprice was missing from his property. He didn’t say where the license plates came from, where the vehicle came from or who might have taken it. He was advised to contact a Galesburg towing company to retrieve it.

• ELMWOOD – No injuries were reported following a two-vehicle crash in Elmwood.

Brayden M. Amerman of Elmwood was driving an eastbound 2011 Chevrolet Traverse sport-utility vehicle at 8:45 p.m. July 31 on Mound Street when at Morgan Street it collided with a southbound 2017 GMC Arcadia SUV that had the right of way, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.

Abigail M. Kaczmarek of Elmwood was the other driver. Amerman said he slowed for the stop sign on Mound Street but couldn’t stop in time. Each vehicle contained two passengers and sustained front-end damage but was drivable. Amerman was cited for failure to stop at an intersection.

• HANNA CITY – The vehicle of a Canton man was damaged but drivable after he attempted to illegally pass a semi-truck convoy in Hanna City, according to authorities.

Charles W. Little was driving an eastbound 2009 Dodge truck shortly after 5:15 p.m. July 29 in the 12100 block of Illinois Route 116 when it struck one of the four vehicles in the convoy, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. Those vehicles were marked with oversized-load signs and warning lights.

The other driver was David G. McLeod of Victor, Mont. He said the Dodge swerved back into his lane and the bumpers of both vehicles collided. Little acknowledged he attempted to pass the caravan in a no-passing zone. The report did not state if he was cited.

• DAHINDA – A Warren County man faced illegal-drugs and firearm accusations following a traffic stop.
Jeffrey D. Damewood, 66, of Cameron was driving a swerving, westbound 2000 Dodge Durango sport-utility vehicle a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulled over shortly after 9 p.m. July 25 in the 1400 block of Lincoln St.

A search of the vehicle revealed a white substance believed to be crack cocaine, at least two glass smoking pipes and a box that contained 34 rounds of .22-caliber ammunition. Damewood’s Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification Card was expired, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

Damewood was transported to the Knox County Jail in Galesburg. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of ammo and improper lane use. The vehicle was towed.

• DAHINDA – Gregory A. Aulgur, 33, of Douglasville, Ga., was accused of multiple traffic offenses on July 23 after a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped him south of Dahinda. Aulgur was behind the wheel of an eastbound Chevrolet sedan that had Indiana license plates and was traveling 80 mph in a 55-mph zone on U.S. Route 150 near Knox Highway 12, according to a sheriff’s-office report.

Aulgur, who had a passenger, said he was in the area for work and did not have his driver’s license. A check revealed his Georgia-issued license was revoked. Aulgur was cited for speeding and driving with an invalid license. He received a notice to appear in Knox County Circuit Court.

• OAK RUN – Trina R. Hanssen, 45, of Oak Run was cited for trespassing after she refused to leave a local man’s residence in the 400 block of Knollridge Circle, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report.