Sheriff Bill Rutan, taking Morehead into custody just off the square in Robinson
CRAWFORD CO., Ill. - A Palestine man was back in lockup yesterday after what many might believe was a completely foolish move in court.
Charles Ethan Morehead (who goes by Ethan), 28 and most recently of Palestine, is the guy in question. You can read about his past alleged criminal antics here. Morehead has been causing trouble in Crawford County in one form or another over the past several years, most of it being dismissed by Matt "Monty Hall" Hartrich, Crawford's prosecutor
Ethan Morehead
But what happened yesterday - Friday, June 22 - might turn out to be something that Morehead can't squeak out of so easily.
Morehead was arrested and charged back in April of this year following a report of drug activity going on in his tattoo parlor in Palestine. He's facing a number of serious felony charges, including meth and firearms felonies as well as a charge of Armed Violence.
He also had a handful of traffic tickets dating back to 2017 sitting on the court docket.
Morehead apparently forgot about those tickets and the fact that he needed to make an appearance on them Thursday, June 21. So that was the first strike: Failure to Appear.
He had been set for an appearance on the drug and weapons charges yesterday...and after he failed to appear Thursday, it was brought to the prosecutor's attention by probation that Morehead had failed his most recent urinalysis: It'd come back hot for meth. So that was strike 2.
He actually appeared for the hearing on the drugs/weapons charges yesterday, accompanied by his mommy, whose posting of bond for him on his various arrests has prompted not a few Crawford Countians to note that they wish THEY had that kind of access to large sums of cash for bond.
When the judge advised Morehead that his latest bond was being revoked due to the failed pee test and the FTA, it's reported that he looked at mommy, turned around, and bolted from the courtroom. For whatever reason, there was no bailiff, and Morehead was able to run down two flights of stairs, past the security guard in the basement entrance/exit (reportedly body-slamming and injuring the officer), and out to the breezeway...where a citizen coming in to the courthouse attempted to stop him but was unsuccessful.
That slow-down, however, gave enough time for assistance to be radioed, and Sheriff Bill Rutan was the one who responded, and got Morehead under control about a block away from the courthouse, according to sources who witnessed the whole thing (photo at the top of the article).
Morehead later reportedly advised that the reason he ran is because he didn't want to go to prison and "risk not getting to see his son ever again."
Morehead was remanded to the custody of the sheriff and toted to jail, where ultimately his bond was set at $25,000 cash. We're not seeing his name on the jail roster; we've not been able to confirm whether he's locked up, or if mommy has managed to post bond for that already. We'll check and get back with you...unless, of course, you know; in that case, feel free to post, and tell us what you think. Crawford is one of the more annoying courthouses in our coverage area, after a person with an umbrella was mistaken for toting a weapon into the courthouse in early 2013 and they subsequently closed all entrances except one and posted a guard there. The inconvenience this poses for the public is supposedly balanced by the "security" that only one entrance/exit provides. However, not having someone in the courtroom for security, a bailiff, a deputy, anything, kinda cancels out the "balance"...and it sure didn't help anyone yesterday.
Your opinions welcome.