MONMOUTH — An Oregon pilot allegedly unloaded more than 200 pounds of cannabis from a plane at the Monmouth airport Tuesday night.Sean B. Billingsley, 31, of Jacksonville, Oregon, made a court appearance Wednesday afternoon on a single felony count of possession of cannabis more than 5,000 grams in the Warren County Courthouse. That charge, if convicted, carries a sentence of between four years and 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections to be followed by two years [...]
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Oregon pilot found with 200 pounds of cannabis in Monmouth
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Monmouth man charged with first-degree murder
MONMOUTH — A Monmouth man is charged with first-degree murder following an incident early Christmas Eve.Drew M. Pearman, 34, West 4th Avenue, was interviewed by Monmouth police investigators at his 118 W. 4th Ave. home and subsequently charged, a news release said.Monmouth authorities were called to Pearman's address Sunday morning for a possible gunshot victim. A 27-year-old male was found dead from a gunshot wound at the residence.The identity of the victim is [...]
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Prosecutor identifies murder victim, files 5 counts
MONMOUTH — Five counts of first-degree murder have been filed against a Monmouth man charged with klling another Monmouth man in the early hours of Christmas Eve.Warren County State's Attorney Andrew Doyle said the charges would be finalized Tuesday afternoon against Drew M. Pearman, 34, West 4th Avenue and all carry a mandatory 25 years to life enhancement for [...]
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Continuance granted for 3 charged in Mynatt murder
OQUAWKA — Three people facing first-degree murder charges in Henderson County were granted a continuance Wednesday in Henderson County Circuit Court.Donnie Blakely Jr., 41, and Angel Logsdon, 39, both of Oquawka, and Amy Hoffman, 38, of Gladstone, were indicted earlier this month on first-degree murder charges in the Oct. 6 killing of Rex Mynatt Sr., 87, at his rural Carman camper where he lived alone.According to an indictment handed up Dec. 1 by a grand jury after [...]
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Man hears 5 murder counts in court
MONMOUTH — A Monmouth man charged with killing another Monmouth man made his first appearance in court Tuesday morning.Drew M. Pearman, 34, West 4th Avenue, was in court before Circuit Associate Judge Patricia Walton accompanied by public defender Thomas Siegel.Pearman had the five counts of first-degree murder formally read to him in court during [...]
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Alleged Monmouth shooter denied bail
MONMOUTH — A Monmouth man accused of shooting another man was removed from court during his first court hearing late Thursday morning.Aaron J. Warrington, 37, Monmouth, was talkative the second he walked into the second-floor courtroom in the Warren County Courthouse a few minutes after 11 a.m. Thursday. He began by mostly talking to two people in the audience that were family members, but was talking about specifics of the case.Warrington was in court for bail to be set [...]
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Monmouth murder suspect waives preliminary hearing
MONMOUTH — A Monmouth man charged with murdering another Monmouth man waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning.Drew M. Pearman, 34, West 4th Avenue, made the decision with Public Defender Thomas Siegel Tuesday. A preliminary hearing is an evidentiary proceeding where testimony is presented before a judge to rule whether or not there was probable cause to believe an offense has occurred.According to court documents, Pearman allegedly shot Zackery D. [...]
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West Prairie student arrested after 3-county police chase
SCIOTA — A West Prairie High School student is in custody after an incident at the high school that resulted in a lockdown, car chase and damage to police vehicles.According to McDonough County Sheriff Rick VanBrooker, deputies were dispatched to West Prairie High School about 11 a.m. on a report that a 15-year-old student was throwing butter knives at the feet of other students.VanBrooker told the McDonough County Voice the disturbance was in the school’s [...]
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2 Galesburg men arrested near Cameron on meth charges
MONMOUTH — Two Galesburg men are charged with making meth in Warren County.Rodger A. Bayless, 48, and Robert J. Strong, 37, each face charges of unlawful possession of meth manufacturing material, unlawful disposal of meth manufacturing waste, unlawful possession of anhydrous ammonia and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to Warren County State’s Attorney Andrew Doyle. An additional charge, possession of meth, could be filed pending lab work from [...]
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Oquawka cat killer remains at large
OQUAWKA — No arrests have been made yet in the weekend killing of a cat outside a Henderson County assisted living home.The body of a cat who lived at Schlotzhauer Home in Oquawka was discovered Saturday morning impaled on decorative antlers atop a deer statue outside the independently-run elderly living facility."Nothing has ever happened like this before, not in this town," said Oquawka Police Chief Keith DeJaynes.Officers from the Oquawka police and [...]
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Monmouth woman charged with aggravated arson
MONMOUTH — Starla D. Morath, 29, Monmouth, has been charged with aggravated arson in connection with a Jan. 30 house fire.The Class X felony carries with it a sentence of six to 30 years if convicted, according to Warren County State’s Attorney Andrew Doyle. The charge comes after a two-alarm fire in the early hours of Jan. 30 when Morath allegedly set fire to the residence at 220 S. C St. knowing there were “six or seven” people inside. The occupancy [...]
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No injuries in Monmouth school gun scare
MONMOUTH — Monmouth police believe an area teen who brought a pellet gun to school Thursday did so without apparent ill intent.Daily security checks in place at the Regional Alternative Education Services program prevented the 17-year-old male from bringing the weapon into the school. No shots were fired and there were no injuries."There was some information we gained through our interview. I think him bringing that to school was more of a personal preference. There was [...]
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Monmouth man's murder sentence under review
GALESBURG — A Monmouth man's murder sentence is getting a review.Jereme J. Carter, 36, was back before Circuit Judge Paul Mangieri Thursday morning on his motion for post-conviction relief.Post-conviction relief is a three-step process in which an inmate can take issue with certain aspects of their case or sentence.If a filing is found to have merit, an attorney is appointed who makes any amendments or supplements to the court filing the inmate made. At that [...]
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Cameron home a ‘total loss’ after Saturday fire
CAMERON — A fire that broke out Saturday afternoon in Cameron damaged the house at 1383 180th Avenue beyond repair. Central Warren Fire Protection District Chief Doug Ray called the home a “total loss,” but noted that residents made it out of the home without injury.The two-alarm fire was called in at 2:59 p.m. Saturday and took about two hours to contain. Responding at the scene were the Central Warren Fire Protection District, as well as fire departments from [...]
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Monmouth woman charged with making meth
MONMOUTH — A Monmouth woman is charged with making meth in her residence months ago.Katrina L. Kempf, 44, 210th Avenue, was arrested last week in Galesburg on a $100,000 warrant, $10,000 needed to get out of jail, for making meth in her residence while children were present on Aug. 31, 2017. She was subsequently transported to Warren County and made a court appearance about a week ago.Court documents say Kempf is charged with Class X felony aggravated [...]
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Billingsley case goes federal
MONMOUTH — The case of an Oregon man who allegedly transported 200 pounds of cannabis via airplane to Monmouth will enter the federal level on Wednesday, with a first appearance at Rock Island Federal Court, according to Warren County State’s Attorney Andy Doyle. The time of the hearing has not been announced.Sean B. Billingsley, 31, Jacksonville, Oregon, was originally arrested at Monmouth Municipal Airport at 10:58 p.m. Dec. 12, 2017, after unloading duffel bags from [...]
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Judge OKs public defender payment
MONMOUTH — The public defender in a Christmas Eve murder case will be paid $3,000 for his work so far.Judge James Standard and Warren County State’s Attorney Andy Doyle agreed Wednesday afternoon it was appropriate to pay Public Defender Tom Siegel $3,000 for the roughly 35 hours of work he did on the case in January.During the petition hearing Wednesday in Warren County Court the judge set a status hearing for 11 a.m. March 21 in the Drew Pearman murder case. [...]
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Plea deal reached in Monmouth shooting case
MONMOUTH — Aaron J. Warrington, 37, Monmouth, accepted a plea deal Thursday in Warren County Court in the case of a Jan. 2 shooting in the 800 block of South 6th Street.Warrington was charged with Class X felony aggravated battery with a firearm and faced six to 30 years in prison if convicted. In exchange for the guilty plea, the charge was reduced to Class 1 felony attempted aggravated battery with a firearm. Warrington will serve four years’ probation, including 180 [...]
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Warren County SA seeks to ease burden on public defenders
Public Defender Tom Siegel made an impassioned plea Wednesday to Judge James Standard in a hearing to request co-counsel.
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Siegel calls it quits as Warren County public defender
MONMOUTH — Attorney Tom Siegel started his public defense work with Warren County in 2006. Now, barring any major changes, he will see his last day as a public defender July 1. He said he sent in his 60-day notice of resignation to State’s Attorney Andy Doyle on Tuesday evening.Siegel said much of what led to his decision to quit as a public defender involved a record workload due to an avalanche of felonies that has hit the county since November 2017. As a contract [...]
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