East St. Louis Police Chief Resigns Again, Pleads Guilty

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - The East St. Louis police chief has resigned for the second time in three years after he was caught in a federal sting operation.
Former Police Chief Michael Baxton pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to stealing four Xbox games that federal agents put in a car.
Baxton resigned as chief on Wednesday. He previously resigned as East St. Louis police chief in 2009 after his performance was called into question.
Baxton also served as police chief in Alorton, but a state board barred him from law enforcement because of a 1982 robbery conviction.
He was recertified by a St. Clair County judge in November because the conviction was wiped off the books in 1989 leaving him with no criminal record.
Baxton faces up to 15 years in prison. - http://goo.gl/T487I

Two local Mt. Vernon men arrested

MT. VERNON - Two city men were arrested on drug charges after a traffic stop Wednesday morning.

Mt. Vernon Police Department officers pulled over a vehicle driven by Michael Cole, 52, and occupied by William C. Spears, 25, at the intersection of 20th and Logan Streets shortly before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Detective Capt. Ron Almaroad.

"The passenger fled when the officer stopped the car," he said. "The person who fled was stopped within one block. While he was running, he was discarding what appears to be methamphetamine."

Cole was arrested on charges of driving with a revoked license, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug equipment.

In 1990, he was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on drug possession charges. In 2000, he was found guilty of domestic battery causing bodily harm, a Class A misdemeanor.

In 2004, he was found guilty of possession or manufacture of less than or equal to 15 grams of methamphetamine, a Class 2 Felony, and failure to report to a penal institution or report for periodic imprisonment, a Class 1 felony.

He was charged with driving with a revoked license in 2008, and in 2011, was again charged for the same offense, a Class A misdemeanor, and found guilty.

Spears on Tuesday was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance, obstructing justice by destroying evidence and resisting arrest.

In 2005, Spears was found guilty of possession of less than 2.5 grams of cannabis, a Class C misdemeanor; he was also found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a Class A misdemeanor.

He was found guilty of driving on a suspended license in 2006, a Class A misdemeanor. Also in 2006, he was found guilty of possession of less than 2.5 grams of cannabis, a Class C misdemeanor.

In 2010, he was found guilty of knowingly damaging property of a value of less than $300, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal trespass of a building, a Class B misdemeanor. - http://goo.gl/JSSFA

Salem Man Injured When His Pickup Runs Into Creek

A 24-year-old Salem man has been injured in a one vehicle crash at the Radio Tower and Baker Road intersection northeast of Salem. Marion County Sheriff's Deputies say Curtis Denzik of Oglesby Street was westbound on Baker Road when he failed to negotiate the turn onto Radio Tower Road, went into the creek, with his pickup coming to rest on the passenger side.
Denzik was able to get out of the truck on his own. He was taken to Salem Township Hospital for treatment. The wreck occurred just after midnight Thursday morning. - http://goo.gl/IBGZV

Sandoval Village Board Discusses Three New Businesses and Hires Two Part-time Police Officers

Sandoval will soon have three new businesses in operation. Mayor Ron Kretzer says Granny's Donuts opened on U.S. 51 South this week. A grand opening scheduled at noon Saturday.
Gifts and More has opened in the former barbershop building on Main Street. Kretzer says the new owners of Taylor Made have taken applications for jobsand plan to reopen in later February or March.

The Sandoval Village Board has hired two part-time police officers. Zach Lowery of Salem will be paid $9 an hour and $10 an hour after completing the part-time police officer school.
The board also made a committment to hire Garrett Wade within the next 30 days. Kretzer reported that the village is maintaining a positive cash flow, but there are still some issues that need to be addressed. He is not recommending that the village join the Route 50 Coalition because of the $1,000 they would be asked to commit to the lobbying effort for the four lane highway from Lawrenceville to Lebanon.
The board was told $3,421 has been raised for upkeep of the cemetery from the recent Chilli Supper. - http://goo.gl/rufjJ

Mt. Vernon/Jefferson County Daily Record Jan. 19, 2012

MT. VERNON - Mt. Vernon Police Arrests

• Jacob D. Nichols, 23, of the 3000 block of Jamison Avenue, was arrested Tuesday at 4:03 p.m. on a charge of aggravated domestic battery. Bond was set at $20,000.
• Jessica L. Marten, 27, of Fairview Heights, was arrested Tuesday at 6:54 p.m. on a charge of theft of labor or services. Bond was set at $1,000.
• Dasmin Q. Young, 21, of the 1000 block of Prairie Avenue, was arrested at 11:08 p.m. Tuesday on charges of residential burglary and contempt of court. Bond was set at $35,000.

Thefts

• A resident in the 2400 block of Casey Avenue told police someone stole his Xbox at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
• Tuesday at 3:04 p.m., a resident in the 900 block of Salem Road told police someone stole her trash can.
• Police responded to a report of a cab customer not able to pay at 3:32 p.m. Tuesday.

Incidents

• Personnel at King City Liquors told police someone paid with bad checks at 12:04 p.m. Wednesday.
• Police responded to a report of the sound of gunshots in the 200 block of North 11th Street at 2:08 a.m. Wednesday.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Arrests

• Michael A. Tolka, of the 600 block of Oak Avenue, was arrested Tuesday at 9:10 a.m. on an in-state warrant.

Fires

• Woodlawn Fire Protection District personnel responded to a report of a tractor trailer parked on the shoulder beneath the I-64 overpass on fire at 6:32 a.m. Tuesday. - http://goo.gl/fR7sT

Illinois inmate pleads guilty: 'I strangled my cellmate'

JOLIET, Ill. -- A life sentence has been handed a convicted murderer who pleaded guilty to strangling his cellmate in 2009.

Richard Conner, who is serving a life sentence for the 1991 murder of a Chicago jewelry store clerk, was placed in a Stateville Correctional Center cell with Jameson Leezer, who was near the end of his five-year sentence for car theft.

The 37-year-old Leezer was transferred to Stateville from the medium-security prison in Pinckneyville, after allegedly making lewd comments to a prison guard. Prison records labeled Leezer, described as a member of a white supremacist gang, as vulnerable.

Connor was transferred to Stateville after attempting to hang himself at the super-maximum-security Tamms Correctional Center.

Platek said after the murder, Connor, an African American, came out the cell saying "'I strangled my cellmate." - http://goo.gl/lWvAd

Sandoval Mayor Expresses Concern About Proposed New Grade School

Sandoval Mayor Ron Kretzer says he supports the need for a new grade school, but does have some concerns about the project. He talked about those concerns at Wednesday night's village board meeting. At the top of the list is the impact the increased property taxes will have on village residents. Kretzer also wants to make it clear the village will not be responsible for constructing new roads or sewer lift stations that might be required if the new grade school is constructed next to the Junior-Senior High School. The board has not yet decided where the new grade school would be built if approved by voters on March 20th. Kretzer fears a big increase in property taxes if the proposed two-million dollar bond issue to pay for the 25-percent local share of the cost of the new grade school is combined with a 1.1-million dollar health life safety bond issue to replace the windows in the junior-senior high school building. No vote is needed for the school board to approve the window replacement project. School district officials have said the alternative to constructing the new grade school is to pay twice as much in local property taxes to make four million dollars in needed health life safety improvements to the current grade school building that would not need voter approval. Kretzer is questioning why everything needs to be fixed now and hopes the school board will look at delaying the window replacement project. - http://goo.gl/Ofi1W