NOTE: Charges are merely an accusation. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Police reports
• OAK RUN – An 11-year-old girl was found driving a golf cart on Oak Run thoroughfares. She had a 3-year-old female passenger.
The incident was reported shortly after 6:45 p.m. Aug. 30, according to a Knox County Sheriff’s Office report. A caller said a child was driving a golf cart recklessly.
A deputy located the cart turning from Lakeview Road South onto Oak Run Drive. The driver said she was returning from Oak Run General Store. The childrens’ parents were notified. The driver’s mother said she thought her daughter was driving the cart in the yard of their residence.
Later, the woman said she allows the child to drive on less-busy nearby streets. The deputy told the parents golf-cart drivers require a valid driver’s license. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified.
• PEORIA – An Edwards man had an opened bottle of alcohol in his vehicle when he was stopped for speeding in Peoria, authorities stated.
Cody R. Bishop, 34, was driving a northbound 2011 Ford Escape 68 mph in a 45-mph zone about 8:45 p.m. Sept. 1 in the 8700 block of N. Allen Rd., according to a Peoria police report. Officers found the more-than-half-empty 375-milliliter bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila on the passenger seat.
The vehicle’s front end was damaged extensively. Bishop also did not have insurance for the vehicle, which had an inoperable headlight and a defective windshield. In addition to speeding, Bishop was accused of driving on a revoked license and transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• DAHINDA – A Williamsfield man drove 90 mph in a 55-mph zone southwest of Dahinda, according to authorities.
Urrell A.L. Johnson, 19, was behind the wheel of a 2012 sedan a Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped shortly before 4 p.m. Sept. 1 in the 1600 block of U.S. Route 150.
Johnson was cited for speeding 35 mph above the posted limit. He is to appear Oct. 6 in Knox County Circuit Court in Galesburg.
• FARMINGTON – A Hanna City-area man was accused of multiple traffic offenses in Farmington.
Shortly before 11:15 p.m. Aug. 31, Robert M. VanDyke, 22, was driving a westbound 1999 Chevrolet sport-utility vehicle on Fort Street that didn’t come to a complete stop before it turned right at Main Street, a Farmington police report stated.
After an officer pulled over the SUV, VanDyke was found to be driving on a suspended license. He was cited for that, as well as for disobeying a stop sign.
• PRINCEVILLE – No injuries were reported after a school bus struck a parked vehicle in Princeville.
David Murphy of Princeville was attempting to turn the 2025 IC Bus shortly after 12:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Princeville Grade School, 602 N. Town Ave., when it hit the driver’s side of a 2007 Ford truck that was parked in the bus lane, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.
The truck driver was not in his vehicle at the time. Murphy said he was parked in the bus lane to pick up pre-kindergarten students. The bus sustained minor scrapes. The truck sustained a 5-foot dent across both driver’s-side doors.
• KICKAPOO – A Princeville man was found with illicit drugs after he was seen pounding on windows of vehicles parked at a Kickapoo-area restaurant.
Chase C. Hartley, 27, was arrested almost two hours after the incident was reported. That happened shortly before 11 a.m. Aug. 27 at Jubilee Café, 7203 N. Kickapoo-Edwards Rd., a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated.
Hartley was accused of possession of between 5 and 15 grams of methamphetamine and was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
• LAURA – Both drivers declined medical treatment following a two-vehicle crash north of Laura.
At 10 a.m. Aug. 26, Emma Jean Weistart of Chillicothe was driving a northbound 2021 Jeep Compass on Illinois Route 78 that was turning left at White Road when it collided with a southbound 2018 Ford Fiesta, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Michelle A. Turchi of Kewanee was the other driver. Weistart said she didn’t see Turchi’s vehicle. Akron-Princeville ambulance crews evaluated both drivers. Both vehicles sustained disabling front-end damage and were towed. Weistart was cited for making an improper turn.
• KICKAPOO – A two-vehicle crash west of Kickapoo resulted in six people receiving medical treatment at a Peoria hospital.
Marianna F. Roop of Elmwood was driving a westbound 2017 Ford Explorer shortly after 7:30 a.m. Aug. 26 on U.S. Route 150 when at Princeville-Jubilee Road it rear-ended a 2025 Subaru Forester driven by Karen E. Barrow of Edwards, according to a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report.
Barrow said she was stopped for a school bus. Roop said she wasn’t paying attention. Ambulances transported both drivers and four passengers in Roop’s vehicle – three males and a female – to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. All sustained various minor injuries, the report stated.
Roop was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Both vehicles sustained disabling damage and were towed.
• HANNA CITY – A Hanna City man was arrested recently regarding an apparent assault that took place this summer.
Peytyn R. Bartlett, 19, was accused of battery and taken into custody about 2 a.m. Aug. 26 in the 700 block of E. Division Ave. in Peoria Heights, a Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report stated. He was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
The alleged assault happened about 7:15 p.m. July 21 in the 500 block of N. Main St. in Hanna City, according to another sheriff’s-office report, which was heavily redacted. The incident involved a victim and four males.
• KICKAPOO – A 911-call hangup resulted in the arrest of a Canton woman at a Kickapoo-area business.
The incident happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at Kickapoo Storage, 7405 N. Kickapoo-Edwards Rd., according to a heavily redacted Peoria County Sheriff’s Office report. Holli C. Callister, 31, was arrested and accused of domestic battery.
A 29-year-old Viola man was the victim, the report stated. A 28-year-old Elmwood woman was a witness. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified.
• FARMINGTON – A passenger in a vehicle a Farmington officer stopped for a traffic violation was wanted in Fulton County for vehicle-related offenses.
Jesse L. Shue, 23, of Canton was riding in a 2009 Chevrolet sedan whose driver, 21-year-old Ashley R. Shue of Peoria, disobeyed a stop sign shortly after 11:30 p.m. Aug. 24 on Main Street at Fort Street, a Farmington police report stated.
A check revealed the warrant regarding 2022 charges against Jesse Shue of operating an uninsured vehicle and operating one with canceled, revoked or suspended registration. He was transported to the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown. Ashley Shue was cited for the stop-sign infraction.
• PEKIN – Jacob G. Stevenson of Edwards was taken into custody by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shortly before 12:15 a.m. Aug. 20 at the Tazewell County Jail regarding an outstanding warrant. The reason for the warrant was not stated in a sheriff’s-office report.
• ELMWOOD – Chief Aaron Bean reported the following Elmwood Police Department activity for August: one arrest, eight traffic stops, one citation, nine warnings, 26 reports, two notices to appear, one open door and two ordinance violations.
• FARMINGTON – Chief Chris Darsham reported the following Farmington Police Department activity for August: 402 business checks, 2,892 building checks, two crashes handled, five property crimes, 16 traffic tickets, 23 ordinance violations, three crimes against people, eight miscellaneous, 40 traffic stops, 11 total arrests, 16 total reports, 276 total calls and 25 calls to assist other police departments.
• YATES CITY – Chief Randy Benson reported the following Yates City Police Department activity for August: one arrest, 13 reports, seven traffic stops, four citations, seven warnings, and two open doors.
• GALESBURG – These were among calls to which the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded between Aug. 31-Sept. 6: road hazard, Dahinda; missing adult, Dahinda; fraud, Dahinda; juvenile issue, Yates City; theft, Dahinda; alarm, Dahinda; disturbance, Dahinda; trespass, Yates City.
