Convicted molester search continues

Thirty-five-year-old Urbana resident Kinzie Lee Schwab, who was convicted last Thursday, August 25 of criminal sexual assault and child pornography by a Champaign County jury, is currently at large. Schwab was not present for any of his trial dates, which started last Tuesday, August 23. He made a court appearance last Monday, August 22 in Judge Tom Difanis’...

Sex Crimes Defense

August 16th, 2016

Ex-ISU student acquitted of rape charges

24-year-old former Illinois State University student William Wells was acquitted of sexual assault charges on Friday, August 12 in McLean County Circuit Court in Illinois. After a deliberation of about four hours, the jury returned with a not guilty verdict in the case of Wells, who was accused of raping a woman in February at his...

Criminal Defense

August 8th, 2016

Harvard man sentenced to one year of jail for burglary charges

Thirty-two-year-old Harvard, Illinois resident Nathaniel Clem, who broke into some businesses in Eau Claire County, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment and three years on probation for a felony count of burglary on Friday, August 5 in Eau Claire County Court. Judge Michael Schumacher said the imprisonment term of Clem – who was on...

DUI Defense

August 4th, 2016

Illinois’ new law about marijuana-impaired driving requires stiffer evidence for conviction

Local attorney Jeff Hall said that a new law in the state of Illinois regarding marijuana and impaired driving, has only slightly reduced the legal dangers – including longer prison terms – of causing a fatal vehicular accident after taking the drug. Four individuals have been convicted since 2012 of causing a death while driving...

Criminal Defense

July 21st, 2016

Former director of Tri-County Action Commission pleads not guilty

Sixty-year-old West Union Township resident Denise Birt pleaded not guilty on Friday, July 15 in relation to charges that she mismanaged the organization’s fund. Birt is the former director of the Tri-County Action Commission, a non-profit organization that provides services to people living in Logan, Champaign, and Shelby counties. Birt’s five-count indictment includes three third-degree felonies – securing...

Murder

July 8th, 2016

Murderer of Danville woman sentenced to 17 years

Forty-five-year-old Danville resident George Harold Chapman faced first-degree murder charges in the death of 43-year-old Danville resident Angelica Vasquez. Around 7:45 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2011, Vasquez was found burned and half-clothed on the property of an abandoned farmhouse at 1315 N. Rising Road, just north of Bradley Avenue near Champaign. In June, Vermillion County Circuit Judge Tom O’Shaughnessy sentenced...

DUI Defense

July 1st, 2016

DUI arrests in Decatur are second-highest in the state of Illinois for 2015

Independent non-profit organization Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists has reported that the Decatur Police Department in Illinois has made the second-highest number of driving under the influence arrests in the state in the year 2015, with 405 arrests. The Carol Stream Police Department and the Rockford Police Department each placed first when it comes to DUI...

Murder

June 28th, 2016

Witness denies claims that she implicated defendant in murder trial

Twenty-two-year-old Champaign resident Dashiona Fonville was arrested so that a jury could hear her testimony in a murder trial. According to The News-Gazette, Fonville claimed at least 120 times on Wednesday, June 22 that she could not remember much of her former testimony concerning the murder. Fonville originally claimed 22-year-old Champaign resident Brandon Collier was involved in the fatal shooting of 30-year-old...

Murder

June 6th, 2016

Danville man gets 33 years in prison for second-degree murder

Thirty-eight-year-old Danville, Illinois resident Jason Roberts was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Tuesday, May 31. His crimes include striking Dylan Scales, the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend Michelle Crawley, with a baseball bat, and fatally hitting Robert Collins with his vehicle, in October 2015. Roberts was supposed to stand trial on first-degree murder and aggravated driving...

Criminal Defense

June 1st, 2016

Former police officer pleads guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse

32-year-old Jerad Gale, a former police officer for both the Champaign City Police Department and the Monticello Police Department in Illinois, pleaded guilty on Friday, May 27 to two felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in two separate cases involving two women in Champaign City Court. Gale was given a jail sentence of six months, 48 months...

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