A Chicago man was sentenced Wednesday to up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in Whiteside County court to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm

A Whiteside County man has been charged with criminal sexual assault, battery, and unlawful restraint in connection with a Dec. 31 incident

Whiteside County deputies took children shopping Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, during their annual Shop with a Cop event in Sterling. - Photos by Brian Hurley

BOOKER: As sheriff of Whiteside County, my priority is simple – protecting the people who live, work, and raise their families here. Any changes to state law must give deputies and police officers the tools they need to do the job safely and responsibly.

A Sterling man being held in the Whiteside County Jail on a 2022 arson and home invasion case now faces additional charges that accuse him of assaulting a jailer.

Police allege a woman had a large, bleeding bump on her head and red marks around her neck, indicating she had been choked, as a result of a Nov. 8 beating

A Sterling man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an Oct. 30 death threat made against a Whiteside County 14th Circuit Court judge

Harley Canas, 26, of Rock Falls, is charged in Whiteside County with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, and endangering the life or health of a child, a misdemeanor, according to Whiteside County court documents.

A Rock Falls man has been charged in Whiteside County with felony weapons violations and resisting arrest

Whiteside County sheriff’s deputies were called at 3:40 a.m. Thursday, to a single-vehicle ATV crash on Mellotts Road, west of Fenton

Whiteside County Sheriff John F. Booker is asking all residents to refrain from outdoor burning activities as the county continues to experience extremely dry conditions.

Nathan Sandell, 34, faces charges of aggravated fleeing to elude, theft over $500, and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to a news release issued by Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker

A Whiteside County judge has rejected a plea agreement that would have put a Sterling man behind bars for 8 years in connection with an October 2024 fire that destroyed a Galt home and injured two people

Jacob Penaflor, 40, is charged with aggravated driving under the influence of drugs in connection with the May death of Benjamin Weidel, 39, of Prophetstown

The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call around 3:30 p.m. Monday reporting a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 30 at I-88 mile marker 44’s westbound on-ramp.

The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office has dedicated a memorial bench in honor of retired Deputy Gordie Millerschone.

The crash happened about 11 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Garden Plain and Sand roads in rural Fulton.

A Rock Falls man has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to separate Whiteside County cases that accuse him of recklessly shooting a firearm in May 2024 and possessing meth

In a news release issued Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, Dixon Police Chief Ryan Bivins said David Dykema, 52, of Dixon, had been found deceased in Whiteside County.

The single-vehicle crash happened Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, on Moline Road west of Yorktown Road, according to a Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office news release. She's the second Erie resident to die in a crash in less than a week.

After about 3 1/2 hours of deliberation Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, a Whiteside County jury said it had found Zachary J. Rivera not guilty of five counts of unlawful restraint and one count of battery, making physical contact, according to court documents.

A Whiteside County judge ruled Monday that a Sterling man accused of robbing a Morrison bank in July will undergo a mental fitness evaluation at the request of his attorney.

According to court records, the two were charged after they were pulled over during an Aug. 3 traffic stop near Lincoln Road and Rock Falls Road near Rock Falls

Two counts of aggravated battery filed against Carlos T. Loyola, 27, of Rock Falls, were dismissed July 31, 2025.

The new center, housed at the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office in Morrison, began operations July 7, 2025.

Timothy Cunningham was found not guilty of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse

One of the three men now faces an additional two charges, filed July 21, 2025, that accuse him of two counts of aggravated battery of a third-party guest

The National Weather Service is warning of heat index values well over 100 degrees, creating conditions ripe for heat exhaustion and heat stroke, sheriff said.

A Rock Falls man has pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges accusing him of being one of three men who showed up at a June Rock Falls garage party unwelcome, masked and armed, beat two men, threatened others and then shot at the garage while running away

A Lee County judge decided Monday to allow the pretrial release of a Dixon man accused of disseminating images and videos of child sexual abuse.

A Sterling man is accused of aggravated robbery and burglary in connection with a reported bank robbery Saturday, July 5, in Morrison.

Heath A. Knipple, 46, was charged in Lee County Circuit Court with six counts of Class X felony dissemination of child pornography with each listing that the victim was younger than 13

Three Rock Falls men were in police custody Wednesday, July 2, accused of entering a garage in rural Rock Falls during a party over the weekend, assaulting a man, firing multiple gunshots at the residence and fleeing.

Jaysiah A. Segobiano, 24, pleaded guilty June 26 to one count each of mob action and battery in connection with the events that unfolded Dec. 8 in the 1000 block of Avenue K in Sterling. She is the second person to plead guilty in the case.

The Sterling Fire Department is awaiting federal funding approval for upgrades to its radio communications.

Less than a month after he was sentenced to probation in Lee County on a felony weapons charge, a Dixon man has been charged in Whiteside County with felony weapon and drug offenses.

A Thomson man has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of sexually assaulting and abusing a 17-year-old Fulton girl three years ago.

The role of the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office is to uphold and protect the right to protest – while also ensuring the safety of all participants, bystanders and the broader community.

The father of a Rock Falls man murdered Feb. 14 wants the Rock Falls police chief to resign after officers testified last month that several protocol violations happened during the investigation.

The trial of a former Rock Falls man facing up to 60 years in prison on sex assault and sex abuse charges will be delayed a month after prosecutors requested more time to review a report of new evidence in the case

As a Whiteside County deputy pulled up on a vehicle believed to be driven by a man considered a person of interest in another case, he said he discovered the wanted vehicle not only had a different driver but also more than 100 grams of meth stashed inside

One of the charges – unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of meth with intent to deliver – is a Class X felony that carries a possible 30-year prison sentence.

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.

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 two-vehicle crash in rural Prophetstown on Wednesday afternoon left one man dead and another injured, according to a news release from the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office.

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