This week's local crime and court updates from The Southern Illinoisan
A Benton man was arrested Friday after he allegedly fled police in a stolen car.
According to a news release from Franklin County Sheriff David Bartoni, his office got a report just before 2 p.m. Friday of an armed carjacking in rural West Frankfort.
Sometime later, law enforcement spotted the victim's vehicle in Zeigler. When an officer tried to stop the stolen car, the driver sped away, Bartoni said. The driver eventually got out of the car and tried to flee on foot, but was taken into custody by an off-duty Royalton police officer and an Illinois State Police trooper with a K-9.
The driver was identified as Robert L. Plumlee II, a 25-year-old from Benton. He was charged with a Class X felony count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, a Class 2 felony count of unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, and a Class 3 felony count of aggravated battery, Bartoni said.
The Franklin County State's Attorney and Sheriff's Office continue to investigate. Charges did not appear on court records website Judici.com as of Monday afternoon.
— The Southern
Fifteen men have been charged in federal court with the distribution of meth.
According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft, the 15 men allegedly participated in a drug trafficking ring in Mount Vernon from June 2018 to September 2019.
The men charged are: David D. Hunt, 28, of Dayton, Ohio; Trevon M. Taylor, 35, of Mount Vernon; Dedrick R. Bell, 41, of Bluford; Chalar L. Taylor, 25, of Mount Vernon; Major J. Monroe, 45, of Marion; Carlos D. Knox, 48, of Mount Vernon; Korey B. Alexander, 35, of Centralia; Myron T. Seigart, 32, of Mount Vernon; Brandon N. Barnett, 35, of Bloomington, Indiana; Jhytrenton C. Ladd, 27, of Mount Vernon; Keith Peoples, Jr., 33, of Mount Vernon; Nathaniel Nesbit, Jr., 34, of Mount Vernon; Terry M. Turner, 39, of Mount Vernon; Cortez E. Davis, 40, of Mount Vernon; and Terwin L. Morgan, 38, of Mount Vernon.
The release said the grand jury indictment was handed down Oct. 24, accusing the men of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in Jefferson County. According to the news release, all 15 defendants face 10 years to life imprisonment, up to a $10 million fine and supervised release of not less than five years.
According to the release, Hunt and Bell are also charged separately with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of meth on various dates, while Knox is accused of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on one occasion in February.
The release also states that on separate occasions during the time frame given in the conspiracy, Monroe and Turner each knowingly distributed 5 grams or more of meth.
Weinhoeft’s release also said that the additional charges against Hunt, Bell, and Knox are each punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment, up to a $10 million fine, and supervised release of not less than five years. For their individual counts, Monroe and Turner both face five to 40 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5 million, and supervised release of not less than four years.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating individuals responsible for the theft of hemp from two locations in the county.
Forty-two acres of hemp was taken from a field in a remote area of the county, east of Dongola. The grower said the entire field had the tops removed. The estimated loss is approximately $2 million. The theft occurred between Nov. 1 and 14.
In the past few days, hemp also was taken from a warehouse in the western part of Union County.
Anyone with information about the two thefts is encouraged to call the Union County Sheriff at 618-833-5500. Callers can remain anonymous.
The Southern
Saline County
Harrisburg Police are investigating Nov. 13 shooting
The Harrisburg Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Wednesday night.
A news release from the Harrisburg Police Department sent Thursday said officers responded to a call at 9:34 p.m. Wednesday of a shooting on Oglesby Street. The release said upon arriving, officers found a 38-year-old man who was suffering from two gunshot wounds, one in the chest or abdomen and one in the hip.
The release said the man was airlifted to an out-of-state hospital. The victim’s status was not clear at the time of this report.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Saline County Dispatch at 618-252-8661.
Jackson County
Police seek 2 in home invasion
Carbondale Police are seeking two suspects after a home invasion Wednesday evening.
According to a news release from Carbondale Police Department, officers learned that at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, two suspects entered a home in the 900 block of East Park Street. One suspect showed a handgun, police said, and demanded money. The suspects stole property from the home, and then fled on foot, police said.
Police describe the suspects as:
- A black male, about 6 feet tall, 25 years old, with an athletic build, wearing a black sweatshirt and dark jeans with a hat on and a hood over it; the suspect allegedly displayed a small, gray semiautomatic handgun;
- A black male about 5 feet 9 inches tall, 20 years old, wearing a dark or black hoodie with the hood pulled up and jeans.
Police ask anyone with information about the incident or the suspects to call the police department at 618-457-3200 or Crime Stoppers at 618-549-2677.
— The Southern State
Copy of Gettysburg Address on display
A copy of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address that was handwritten by the 16th president himself is going on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield for two weeks.
In a news release, the museum says it will display the copy — one of only five surviving copies written by Lincoln — from Thursday through Dec. 2. The display coincides with the anniversary of Lincoln’s delivery of the brief speech on Nov. 19, 1863, at the height of the Civil War.
The document that stays in a climate-controlled vault most of the time to protect it from light and humidity will be housed in the museum’s Treasures Gallery.
The address that begins famously with the words: “Four score and seven years ago...” is handwritten on plain white paper.
— Associated Press
Carbondale Police are seeking two suspects after a home invasion Wednesday evening.
According to a news release from Carbondale Police Department, officers learned that at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, two suspects entered a home in the 900 block of East Park Street. One suspect showed a handgun, police said, and demanded money. The suspects stole property from the home, and then fled on foot, police said.
Police describe the suspects as:
- A black male, about 6 feet tall, 25 years old, with an athletic build, wearing a black sweatshirt and dark jeans with a hat on and a hood over it; the suspect allegedly displayed a small, gray semiautomatic handgun;
- A black male about 5 feet 9 inches tall, 20 years old, wearing a dark or black hoodie with the hood pulled up and jeans.
Police ask anyone with information about the incident or the suspects to call the police department at 618-457-3200 or Crime Stoppers at 618-549-2677.
— The Southern
The Harrisburg Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Wednesday night.
A news release from the Harrisburg Police Department sent Thursday said officers responded to a call at 9:34 p.m. Wednesday of a shooting on Oglesby Street. The release said upon arriving, officers found a 38-year-old man who was suffering from two gunshot wounds, one in the chest or abdomen and one in the hip.
The release said the man was airlifted to an out-of-state hospital. The victim’s status was not clear at the time of this report.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Saline County Dispatch at 618-252-8661.
— The Southern
A Johnston City man was sentenced Friday and will spend eight years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for charges including burglary.
According to a news release from the Williamson County State’s Attorney’s Office, Douglas K. Hearn, 33, was sentenced to eight years in IDOC for one count of burglary, a Class 3 felony, and six years on a Class 4 felony conviction of retail theft. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
The release said the burglary occurred at a residence in Johnston City in June 2018, while the retail theft occurred at the Mach 1 gas station in Herrin in September 2017. Hearn has a criminal history, including convictions for theft, criminal trespass and domestic battery, according to the release.
— The Southern
Another arrest has been made in the Nov. 3 shooting death of 27-year-old Keon Cooper in Carbondale.
A news release from the Carbondale Police Department on Wednesday said that deputies with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office arrested Thomas Durell Evans Jr., 30, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on a Jackson County warrant charging concealing or aiding a fugitive.
According to the release, Evans is currently incarcerated in the Cape Girardeau County Jail awaiting extradition to Illinois.
Tyren Johnson, 21, of Sikeston, Missouri, was arrested Nov. 7 in Sikeston in connection to the case. He is charged with murder.
Police are still seeking Olando Sheron, 24, of Sikeston, on a murder warrant. Police say he is armed and dangerous.
As previously reported by The Southern, Cooper was talking to three suspects at about 1:20 a.m. Nov. 3 in a parking lot in the 500 block of South Illinois Avenue — Carbondale's downtown Strip — when he was shot, police said. Two of the suspects were armed with handguns, and police indicated they fired at Cooper. Then, the three suspects fled in a black newer model Kia Optima or similar vehicle, police said.
Cooper later died at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
Anyone with information about the investigation or the whereabouts of Sheron is encouraged to contact the Carbondale Police Department at 618-457-3200 or Crime Stoppers at 618-549-2677.
