NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police Reports
• PEORIA – A Trivoli-area man who was being held in the Peoria County Jail was found dead there last weekend, according to authorities.
Erick C. Luncsford, 33, was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. Sept. 9 in a cell, Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood stated in a news release Monday.
About one hour before Luncsford was declared deceased, he was found unresponsive, not breathing and with no pulse, according to Harwood. Resuscitation was attempted. An autopsy was inconclusive and is pending additional study.
Harwood’s office and the Illinois State Police are continuing to investigate.
Luncsford was arrested Aug. 28 and was accused of indirect criminal contempt, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. He was scheduled to appear today (Sept. 14) in court. Luncsford had a long criminal history in Peoria, Fulton and Tazewell counties, according to jail records.
• PEORIA – A Norwood man was being held on $250,000 bond after he escaped from the Peoria County Jail.
Cory W. Bragg, 34, was accused of escape and aggravated fleeing and eluding following the incident, which happened about 11 p.m. Sept. 5. Bragg was part of a work crew that was taking garbage out of the jail when he ran away, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
About 4:45 a.m. Sept. 6, deputies saw Bragg driving a truck near Glasford. Bragg fled at high speed and deputies chased him to Pekin, where they stopped the vehicle. Bragg stole the truck from Plank Road in Bellevue, near the jail, per the sheriff’s office.
Bragg was in jail after he was arrested July 25 on charges related to multiple crimes. Among them were obstructing justice, burglary and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records.
Regarding the escape, Bragg also was accused of resisting a peace officer and reckless driving, among other things. He needs to post $25,000 bond to be released from jail.
If convicted, Bragg’s sentence is to be served after any regarding cases for which he already was in custody, according to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office. The sheriff’s office is reviewing procedures and protocols regarding inmates assigned to work crews.
• ELMWOOD – The sun blinded a driver who crashed into a stop sign at an intersection east of Elmwood, according to authorities.
At 8:30 a.m. Sept. 4, Makenzie R. Robertson was driving a 2014 Ford C-Max Hybrid east on Illinois Route 8 when she attempted to turn north on Maher Road. Robertson cut short her turn because of the sun’s glare, but her vehicle struck the sign, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Robertson, whose hometown was not available, reported no injuries. Her vehicle was towed.
• BRIMFIELD – A two-vehicle collision in the parking lot of a Brimfield business resulted in no injuries, according to authorities.
The accident happened shortly before 4 p.m. Aug. 23 at Dollar General, 17511 W. U.S. Route 150. Sierra F. Peterson of Dunlap was driving a 2011 Chevrolet Impala that was exiting a parking space when it crashed into the driver’s side of a 2016 Ford Expedition driven by Karla L. Begner of Elmwood.
Peterson said she was pulling out of her parking spot too fast when the rear of her vehicle struck Begner’s, which was entering the lot, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. Both vehicles sustained moderate damage and were driven from the scene.
• BARTONVILLE – A Princeville man and two of his children reported no injuries following a two-vehicle wreck west of Bartonville.
Shortly after noon Aug. 26, Riley W. Strawn was driving a 2017 Toyota Tacoma west on Lancaster Road and slowed to turn south on Harkers Corner Road when a westbound 2016 Ram struck his vehicle, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. The other driver was Alexander C. Giftos of Glasford.
Giftos said he thought Strawn was turning north, so he attempted to pass him on the left. Giftos braked but couldn’t avoid hitting the Tacoma. After the collision, Giftos drove into a ditch and ran over a road sign. Strawn, with his children as passengers, drove into a cornfield.
Both vehicles sustained front-end damage and were towed. Giftos reported no injuries. The accident damaged about 60 bushels of corn, according to the report.
• GILSON – A Yates City-area man avoided injury in a two-vehicle accident northeast of Gilson.
At 1:30 p.m. July 12, William C. Baird, 20, was driving a 2007 Buick Lucerne east on Knox Highway 17 at Knox Highway 12 when his vehicle collided with a 2002 GMC Envoy. A 17-year-old rural-Gilson girl was driving that vehicle north on Route 12.
The Envoy failed to make a complete stop at the intersection, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report released recently. The Lucerne came to rest in a ditch next to a power pole. The Envoy driver lost control of her vehicle, which rolled on its top into the ditch.
No injuries were reported among the vehicle occupants, including a 20-year-old Yates City-area woman who was a passenger in the Lucerne. The Envoy driver and her 15-year-old female passenger from rural Gilson were transported to OSF St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg as a precaution.
Both vehicles were towed. The teenaged driver was cited for failure to obey a traffic-control device.
• KICKAPOO – Shortly after 4:30 a.m. Aug. 21, Floyd A. Bates of Eureka was driving a northbound 2008 Dodge Durango north on Princeville-Jubilee Road at Jubilee Hollow Court north of Kickapoo when the vehicle struck a deer. The vehicle left the pavement and landed in a ditch, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. Bates declined medical transport, and his vehicle was towed.
• FARMINGTON – Larry B. Stephens, 63, of Farmington was arrested at 6 p.m. Sept. 7 and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office.
• ELMWOOD – Chief Aaron Bean reported the following Elmwood Police Department activity for August: 15 reports, five warnings, five traffic stops, one ordinance violation.
• WILLIAMSFIELD – Chief James Robertson reported the following Williamsfield Police Department activity for August: one 9-1-1 call, two medical calls, one accidental alarm, one structure fire outside the village, one suspicious incident, one harassment complaint.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Aug. 27-Sept. 2: suspicious incident, Williamsfield; animal complaint, Dahinda; harassment, Williamsfield; disturbance, Galva; auto-theft report, Galva; dog bite, Dahinda.
Marriage License
• Lauren Rebecca Board and Samuel Louis Shane, both of Trivoli.
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