From the pages of the 2009 August edition of Disclosure
Court records have confirmed that a man who has more than earned the title of most despised police officer in Disclosure’s readership area is being dumped by his wife. William “Billy” Lee (PeeWee) Darnell has, as of July 15, become the subject of a divorce filing by his wife of 16 years, Sasha.
A Mt. Erie man has been charged with possession of child pornography after his boyfriend called authorities during a domestic dispute, then announced to the responding deputy that his bed-buddy had the images on his cell phone. Dale Trimmer, 47, who has a long history of domestic violence against his boyfriends, is alleged to have gotten into an altercation with the most recent, Martin “Wes” Parker, 50, on the night of Aug. 19, following a night of drinking and generally getting mad at each other.
A big booze party was reported to have been rocking into the late-night hours of August 11 at 311 La Due Drive in Mt. Carmel. However, while 18 citations were issued to the youngsters partying, reportedly at the home of beleaguered businessman Kevin Williams, as of press time, only the underage alleged drinkers have been officially charged with anything; the of-age revelers have not been officially charged, only cited.
The arrest of a Clay City couple has left many in the community stunned and speechless. Court documents indicate that police arrested 50-year-old Sharyn L. Phillips and her 48-year-old husband Alan L. Phillips at their home located at 624 Frontage Drive, in rural Clay City. The couple was taken into custody July 26 and both charged with one count each of Participation in Methamphetamine Manufacturing.
A north Clay man who has done search and rescue for well over a quarter of a century says the death of Robert Harmon in mid-August could have been avoided if only the proper response had been made when Harmon was discovered missing. Tom Hale of rural Louisville ran MidAmerica Search and Rescue beginning in 2001, as a not-for-profit business formed by volunteers that, according to their mission statement, sought to provide “at no charge and for the benefit of the public, trained ground searchers, trained canines and handlers for the search of persons lost, trapped or incapacitated upon the request of any official agency day or night under any conditions in which a searcher can efficiently operate.”
A West Salem couple have been arrested and charged in what appears to be yet another huge drug bust in the village. According to police reports, Brett Ellis, 41, and Pamela Roosevelt, 45, were arrested by Edwards County authorities at their 209 South Albion Street in West Salem August 19 and both charged with eight drug offenses.
A 38-year-old Hardin County illegal has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Benton on a count of Conspiracy to Manufacture and Distribute Marijuana and a count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Gallatin residents are speculating madly that there might be a connection with his indictment and the currently-incarcerated sheriff there, Raymond Martin.
While almost every area business or organization in southern Illinois was hard at work in late July making sure their lighted sign boards were welcoming home local members of the 130th Battalion deployed from Salem and stationed as part of the 33rd Brigade near Zabul, Afghanistan, at least one Flora business didn’t bother. But instead of leaving their specials posted on their signs outside the business, Midtown Liquor apparently purposely left their sign blank while others immediately around them were filling theirs up with various welcoming messages.
It appears a Noble woman has been granted her departing wish of being married before she was shipped off to serve a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one of four drugs charges. According to court records, 31-year-old Michelle Gibbs was arrested in June and charged with one count each of Methamphetamine Manufacturing more than 400 grams but less than 900 grams; Possession of Anhydrous Ammonia with Intent to manufacture Methamphetamine; Possession of Methamphetamine Manufacturing Materials and Possession of Methamphetamine less than five grams.
A somewhat bizarre court action has occurred in Richland involving two people who are at the center of a federal court case based in Wayne County. Brian Scherer, 32, and his wife Angela Scherer, 36, both of Olney, had registered a complaint with federal authorities about the Wayne County Housing Authority last year that developed into a full-fledged discrimination lawsuit against the HA and its directors, Jill Masterson and Danna Sutton.
The disposition of a criminal case involving a Carmi man, who officials describe as “having mental issues,” is currently on hold as of July 29 in the wake of judge Thomas Sutton ordering an evaluation to determine the man’s fitness to stand trial. Just last month, charges against 50-year-old Gregory K. South were reinstated/refiled by prosecutor T. Scott Webb.
Things are moving along swiftly for the young Shawneetown man accused of firing a weapon in the direction of a person or persons at the residence of his brother. Justin M. Brooks, almost 25, stands charged with Aggravated Discharge of a Weapon, a Class 1 felony, in Gallatin County court. The charge was filed July 9 following a July 4 incident at 117 West Roosevelt Ave., where according to Shawneetown officials, Brooks’ brother Dwight lives.
With a disorderly conduct conviction following a rowdy night in 2006, and at least one known unlawful consumption under his belt from that same year, the son of Mt. Carmel high school principal Pat Cheesman has just taken a guilty plea to a recent DUI charge. Andrew Cheesman, 22, formerly of North Cherry St. in Mt. Carmel but currently living in Lebanon, where he is attending college at McKendree, was popped with a DUI on June 17 in the very early morning hours, 2:10 a.m.
An Olney man who cut a deal with Richland County prosecutor David Hyde one day on a drug charge was arrested the next day for being in possession of the same drug. According to court documents, Michael McGowan, 30, son of Dennis and Debra, brother of Gayla, all of 2768 East Deer Farm Lane, Olney was arrested in July and charged with Unlawful Purchase of Pseudoephedrine.
An Olney sex offender knowingly set loose on the public by state’s attorney David Hyde after receiving probation for the 2007 rape of an 8-year-old has pulled what appears to be yet another stunt in an attempt to delay his date with a jury. Jeffery Eastman, 24, is accused of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child, which alleges that on or about April 13, 2009 at 8087 East Antioch Lane, Eastman knowingly committed an act of sexual penetration with a girl under the age of 13.
A Mt. Carmel youth was finally charged in early August with counts stemming from a mid-July hit-and-run and subsequent crash in Gibson County, across the river from Mt. Carmel. However, it appears that Illinois officials are striving to minimize the trouble Will Krup, 18, is in with the law following what appears to be a night of drinking and driving, either on his part or on that of passengers, in an ongoing effort to keep Krup out of the news…despite the fact that that’s exactly where he needs to be, and in detail, in order to curtail his ever-expanding criminal record.
An attempt to grab the sales tax revenue of the foreigner-run KBJ’s by Bridgeport mayor Max Schauf fell short Monday, Aug. 10. Couching it as ‘annexation’ in references and on the city’s agenda, Schauf made no bones about telling the crowd at city hall that his intention in discussing such annexation north of the city (to include KBJ’s) as well as south (where hopefully water pipes for the city’s new waterworks will be placed) had more to do with acquiring funds for the city from the sale of liquor and other items at the former convenience store than anything else—or so he said.
A Wayne County woman, formerly of Clay County, who was featured in a front-page article in the August 5 Special Edition of Disclosure, was found by a deputy on patrol Thursday, Aug. 20 in north Wayne, slumped over the wheel of her vehicle and allegedly passed out from alcohol. Vivian Ewing, 41, also known as Vivian Giddens and Vivian Burroughs, was arrested that night for DUI after she had been taken to the Wayne County sheriff’s department and tested .210 on the breathalyzer there—almost three times the legal limit.
The first of several Wabash County residents charged in a massive drug roundup in mid-July has taken a guilty plea to his part in the matter and has been sentenced to three years in DOC. Marcus Adams, a 20-year-old punk better known for his violent antics against young kids and for hanging out with Wabash’s resident judge’s son while intoxicated, took a plea on Aug. 19 to his charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Manufacture or Delivery of Cannabis between 10 and 30 grams.
A bizarre little Fairfield man escaped serious trouble by the skin of his teeth last month (July), but a few people believe the trouble has only just begun if Justin Savage is allowed to run rampant and unchecked, as he has been for the past several years. And those few are saying that since Savage, 21, apparently didn’t learn from his exploits three years ago, and has now had monumental crimes dismissed on the motion of state’s attorney Kevin Kakac, there’s no telling what he’ll think he can get away with next.
On Thursday, July 23, in front of judge Robert Hopkins, a Clay County native agreed to a 30-year prison sentence cap after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting and impregnating a very young girl. With his court appointed attorney Brad Vaughn on hand, 21-year-old Burt Wenzel agreed to the terms of the deal with assistant state’s attorney Todd Rietz who represented the county prosecutor’s office since the man elected to the post can’t seem to bring himself to perform in a courtroom.
Someone in the Richland County prosecutor’s office had finally sat up and taken notice of local hoodlum Matt Pedigo, but whether it’s duly-elected state’s attorney David Hyde or his salaried assistant hire, former Lawrence prosecutor Todd Reitz, remains unknown at this time. Whatever the case, a petition to revoke probation on Pedigo after his multiple Unlawful Consumption /DUI/drug charges across two counties—Richland and Jasper—has finally been filed, at least in Jasper, and Richland County warrants have been issued for Pedigo’s arrest so that he may at last face the music over his underage drinking/driving arrests…and maybe get some help overcoming his problems, since the boy only just turned 20 in June.
A recent decision in Richland County court proves that even if you or your child are a victim of a crime, that won’t get you out of having to pay your bills. Misty Dawn Parent, 34 and originally from Clarksville, Tenn., recently had a small claims judgment entered against her on behalf of Weber Medical Clinic, where she ran up a $1,465.22 bill after her daughter was severely injured by her boyfriend Andrew Howser, only son of Disclosure publisher Jack Howser.
Grocery store owner and operator Trevor Borowiak is finding out the hard way how petty and unreasonable a handful of Grayville residents can be. And he found out that same way on Aug. 10 that if that handful is loud enough, they can sway just one vote and keep him from expanding his business, in this case, to ensure the sale of alcohol in his Grayville Borowiak’s IGA store.
Damage to area cemeteries seems to be a favorite pastime of the young and criminally-inclined in southeastern Illinois, but folks are saying that’s what’s happened at Tom’s Prairie Cemetery in Jasper Township is beyond typical bored miscreant behavior of overturning grave and headstones.
The Lawrence County board took a grand step of finality at their August full board meeting and voted to rescind the National Flood Insurance Program, ending the county’s participation in NFIP.
Bringing a close to an almost-two-year ordeal, on Aug. 17, Eric L. Lewis, 33, of Bible Grove north of Louisville was sentenced to five years in the Bureau of Prisons as part of a plea agreement made May 18 of this year. Criminal federal charges of Mail Fraud and Money Laundering were leveled against Lewis at that time, brought to the attention of the feds by a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in Benton.