Arrest

A Rock Falls man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2021 shooting that injured another man and damaged a Rock Falls home.

The private attorney representing a rural Dixon man charged with the attempted murder of three police officers said he will be pursuing a motion made by a former Ogle County public defender to hold the trial outside the county.

David Skinner, 62, was found not guilty of all seven counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 that he faced.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to up to 9 years in prison after admitting he set fire to his Sterling apartment last fall as officers arrived to investigate an aggravated battery reported at that address

John Trumbla, who fulfilled a prison sentence for a 1984 Cook County murder conviction, has been out on parole for a drug conviction since 2023 and was set to be discharged from that sentence in 2026. Arrested in another drug case Friday, he was granted pretrial release Tuesday.

A Rock Falls man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Whiteside County Circuit Court, then apologized for fatally stabbing the man, whom he considered a friend.

Mark T. Kelly, 54, of Eldridge, pleaded guilty Monday, May 19, to the charge, which is a Class X felony because he had had at least five previous DUI violations, according to Whiteside County court records.

A Dixon man sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison three months ago for sex-related crimes against a victim younger than 13 says his sentence is excessive and is asking that it be reduced.

Carlos T. Loyola, 27, is charged in Whiteside County with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated domestic battery.

Prosecutors allege the offenses occurred between January and April 2023. The predatory criminal sexual assault charges are Class X felonies that carry possible prison sentences of up to 60 years.

A Lee County judge decided Wednesday to permit the pretrial release of a Rock Falls man accused of a felony sex crime against a minor with conditions which include electronic monitoring and home confinement.

Just one day before Kyle Cooper was set to be tried on a first-degree murder charge in a Rock Falls stabbing case, attorneys announced they’ve reached a tentative plea agreement.

An ill detective and an abundance of pretrial motions – covering everything from whether to let a jury hear a 911 call to the possibility the Rock Falls Police Department violated investigative protocol – has led to a two-day delay in the start of a Rock Falls murder trial.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday, May 7, 2025, to fatally stabbing a man found severely injured last August in a vehicle that crashed in the hospital parking lot.

An Ogle County judge will now be presiding over the felony case of a former Carroll County sheriff’s deputy accused of reckless homicide and destroying evidence in connection with the July death of a Mount Carroll teen.

A Whiteside County judge will decide Friday, May, 9, whether Kyle Cooper’s trial will begin Tuesday, May 13. That decision will follow a hearing on whether the Illinois Attorney General's Office will be able to intervene in the case on behalf of the Illinois State Police.

Matthew L. Thoreson, 23, is charged with aggravated arson, a Class X felony, following a Thursday, May 1, house fire in Oregon.

Derek Swanlund, 44, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges that accuse him of fatally shooting Cameron Pasley on April 21, 2025, in Mt. Morris.

A rural Dixon man charged with the attempted murder of three police officers at his residence in June will now be represented by a private attorney, a move that comes after two Ogle County public defenders who both defended him left the office.

Kristophur Johnson was charged June 4, 2024, with sex assault as well as one count of aggravated battery accusing him of pushing a woman to the ground in the 18000 block of Blue Goose Road in rural Morrison and one count of unlawful restraint.

Kyle Cooper, 36, is accused of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel Gordon, 27, outside of a Rock Falls residence.

Matthew Herpstreith is accused of running over 18-year-old Jackson Kradle on state Route 78 in July 2024 and then trying to cover up any involvement he had in causing the death.

Cameron Pasley, 25, was shot several times at his residence in Mt. Morris in what police describe as a “domestic incident.”

One person is dead and another charged with first-degree murder in what police are calling a “domestic incident” that happened late Monday afternoon.

Derrick Flynn, 42, pleaded guilty Monday, April 14, 2025, in Lee County Circuit Court to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in connection with an August 2023 fight in which he lacerated a woman's face and chipped and dislodged her teeth.

Brett A. Holcomb, 35, was arrested by Sterling police shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the 1500 block of West Fourth Street and taken to the Whiteside County Jail, where he remained jailed Thursday.

Luther Head, who played six seasons in the NBA, made an appearance Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Lee County Circuit Court. An extradition hearing is set for April 17 in Lee County.

Jonathon Gounaris, 32, is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, three counts of aggravated battery and two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card.

James L. Ballard’s plea comes less than two months after the state appellate court upheld a Lee County Circuit Court decision to keep Ballard in jail under the Pretrial Fairness Act, known as the SAFE-T Act

A Whiteside County judge has directed the Illinois State Police to videotape blood and DNA testing to be carried out at the state crime lab in connection with a Rock Falls fatal stabbing case.

A traffic stop by Iroquois County Sheriff’s Police Thursday ended up with a man’s arrest and an explosive device being rendered safe.

Arraignment scheduled for April 16.

A Sterling woman has been charged with multiple traffic offenses, including two felonies, after police say she attempted to elude authorities in Rock Falls and ended up hitting a parked vehicle.

Michael W.T. Bennett Jr. will be moved from the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center in St. Charles to the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on May 17, the day he turns 18.

Kyle Cooper was to stand trial April 8 for the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon; however, that date was pushed until May 13 based on the prosecution’s request for more time.

Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman made the ruling Friday morning, allowing the case against Harrison Webb, 18, to proceed toward trial

Teen charged with attempted murder is accused of shooting two other teens shortly before 6 p.m. July 23 in the area of 13th Avenue and East Fifth Street in Sterling. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the head, and a 14-year-old boy was struck in the leg, police said.

A Sterling woman has pleaded guilty to mob action and been sentenced to probation in connection with a December 2024 home invasion in Sterling.

A former Carroll County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with reckless homicide and destroying evidence in connection with the July death of 18-year-old Jackson Kradle of Mount Carroll.

Alexander Vinson-Ishmon, 24, was ready to plead guilty Wednesday afternoon to one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, which would have sent him to prison for up to 6 years and would be served concurrently with his sentence in a Lee County weapons case.

Kyle Cooper's first-degree murder trial will begin April 8 in Whiteside County Circuit Court.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to a burglary in progress Saturday, March 15, in the area of U.S. 30 and Walton Road in rural Dixon, where two people were seen going in and out of a garage, authorities said in a news release.

A rural Dixon man charged with the attempted murder of three police officers at his residence in June will remain jailed while an Ogle County judge reviews arguments made by his defense attorney.

A man and woman have been charged with resisting arrest after they fought with Lake County Sheriff’s deputies who pulled their vehicle over, police said.

Rodney Swan has been held in the Whiteside County Jail since mid-January, when he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is accused of shooting himself in the thigh when a loaded gun tucked into his waistband discharged as he was pulling up his pants.

Kyle M. Cooper, 36, is charged with murder in connection with the Feb. 14 death of Daniel J. Gordon, 27, who prosecutors say was stabbed after trying to break up an altercation between Cooper and Cooper's ex-girlfriend, who was dating Gordon.

An Ashton teen pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder, admitting he used a belt to strangle his girlfriend to death four months ago in the apartment they shared.

Andrew Gornick appeared Wednesday for a preliminary hearing on charges of stalking, cyberstalking and harassment through electronic communication – all felony offenses.

A Whiteside County jury has found a Freeport man guilty of attempted predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13 in connection with a reported assault at a Sterling school playground in 2023.

Testimony got underway Wednesday in Whiteside County Circuit Court, where a now-22-year-old Freeport man is facing multiple charges of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl at a Sterling school playground two years ago.