SALINE CO. – Recent news reports have had it that there are about 1.5 felonies being filed daily in Saline County…but it’s the misdemeanors that are doing their part to clog up the court system. As of week’s end before print date of this issue (March 11), almost 40 misdemeanors had been filed, and many misdemeanors that would otherwise have been included in that number were actually filed as ordinance violations in municipality in Saline (almost two dozen total as of March 11) …just to keep the cases down in court.
Here are some of those misdemeanors; the most recent ones as of press time, most of them in the month of February.
Mess in the Mills
The first is out of Carrier Mills, where Phillip Keith Morrison, 24, of Eldorado, was charged on Feb. 5 with Disorderly Conduct after a Feb. 3 incident.
That afternoon, police were dispatched to the 400 block of North Thompson Street to investigate a fight-in-progress call made by Richard Horn, who said that the fight involved two males and two females at a trailer north of Horn’s residence.
When Carrier Mills Sgt. Billy Duncan arrived, he claims he saw a man later identified as Morrison shove another male, later identified as Dakota Skelton.
When Duncan saw Morrison attempt to pull open the front door of the residence in an attempt to re-enter, Duncan drew his firearm and ordered Morrison to the ground. Morrison wisely and immediately complied and was handcuffed as other officers arrived.
Skelton, all of 15, claimed that Morrison had been “flipping out and arguing” with Skelton’s mother, Jennifer Jolly, then when asked to leave, Morrison is alleged to have shoved past her and went toward her daughter, Nikki Jolly.
Turns out Nikki was pregnant; Morrison, her boyfriend, was to have given her a ride to the doctor, and she didn’t want to lose her ride so she asked that no action be taken against him. However, since her brother appeared to have been injured in whatever altercation had taken place, and since a neighbor had called about the disturbance, Duncan told her it had to be.
Morrison narrowly missed being charged with Endangering the Life or Health of Child, since he could have been, due to Skelton’s age and his condition (abrasions and torn shirt). Instead, he was charged with simple Battery and Disorderly Conduct.
Unfortunately for Morrison, he’s on Probation with Special Conditions until June of 2017…so this current arrest isn’t going to go well for him.
A revocation hearing had been set for March 14.
Being ‘stupid’ on Trolley Road
On Feb. 7, one Tracy Keith Gwaltney, 51, of Eldorado, was charged with a Violation of an Order of Protection when he was accused, on that day, of being within 500 feet of 905 Trolley Road, Eldorado, a protected residence.
Officer Jerod Gott had been dispatched to that location in reference to “people yelling and screaming.” This turned out to be Gwaltney, according to David Hines, 32, who said that Gwaltney was threatening to “beat his @ss.”
Hines said he wouldn’t pursue charges, but Jessica M. Edwards, 28, advised Gott that she had an active OP against Gwaltney and since he was in the vicinity of her place, she wanted to fill out a statement.
When Gott located Gwaltney, Gwaltney admitted that what he had done was “stupid”…and as such, he turned himself in at Eldorado PD.
Gwaltney is no stranger to the crim life…he has felonious activity dating all the way back to 1986; however, in recent years, he’d mellowed, gradually moving on to traffic violations and an occasional OP problem here and there.
He spent a couple of weeks in jail after the incident, was able to post bond on the 24th, and was set to make first appearance on publication date of this issue.
More OP violation
Another OP violation was filed against one Mark J. Traxler, 48, of Vienna, on Feb. 17 after a Feb. 11 incident that got Traxler in trouble in Eldorado.
On that date, Officer Joel Stanley went to Davidson Street on that call, talking to Denise Traxler, who advised that her 15-year-old son had called her and told her Mark Traxler was beating on the front door and scaring him.
Stanley saw what turned out to be the elder Traxler walking at the bike path at Davidson Street. After the younger Traxler and Denis filled out statements, Stanley went back and located the elder, this time inside Huck’s in ‘rado. After pretending he didn’t know what the officer was talking about when he asked about pounding on the door, the elder Traxler admitted he was there to talk to his son.
The elder Traxler almost immediately advised the cop, once cuffs were on him, that he was “feeling suicidal” and wanted to go to the Mulberry Center at the hospital in Harrisburg.
Court records don’t show whether that happened or not, but bond was set for him, he was appointed Nathan Rowland as counsel…and he was set to enter a plea on March 14.
Jagerbombs…out his pants
A Feb. 12 incident in Harrisburg found Jeremiah Morgan, 19, in trouble over Criminal Damage to Property, so filed on Feb. 26.
Walgreens in Harrisburg called the police on the 12th stating they had a male in the store trying to steal alcohol, according to the report. Police said that upon viewing the store security system, Morgan could be seen “walking around the store messing around the front part of his waist shorts and lower sweatshirt.” He then walked to aisle 6 and a bottle of Jagermeister fell from his sweatshirt; he walked to aisle 9 and another bottle of Jager dropped from his sweatshirt and basketball shorts.
He then put his hands in the air and walked out of the building…however, an employee had seen the bottle fall out of the sweatshirt and another employee tried to get Morgan to stay inside the front doors as he left.
Morgan was found back at his residence wearing the same clothes he’d had on inside Walgreens.
Morgan stayed in jail til the 20th, when Darlene Tolbert posted his $500 bond.
He’s in a ton of trouble already with felony cases pending, including one filed just a few weeks prior to this incident involving violence. He also has other underage alcohol-related offenses.
His first appearance was set for March 21.
Are we really still charging pot…?
A Feb. 18 incident with cannabis got an Eldorado man hemmed up on Feb. 25.
Jason M. Duvall, 26, was charged with two counts on that day: Unlawful Possession of Cannabis and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, which was filed Feb. 25, and which likely definitively proves, upon the posting of $100 bond and confiscation of the items in question, pot charges are really only being filed these days for the money and no other reason, since no one overdoses on pot, unlike other controlled substances in the state of Illinois.
Duvall, who has no criminal history of which to speak besides OVs and traffic, was set for a court date on March 21.
Enforcing a ‘wholesome dog food’ law
On Feb. 24, apparently after some investigation by Animal Control Officer Mike Sullivan, one Jasmine Vinyard, 20, of Galatia or Eldorado depending on which piece of paperwork is being considered, was charged with a Jan. 20 incident of Violation of Animal Owner’s Duties, in which she, as “owner of a brown dog, failed to provide sufficient quantity of good quality, wholesome food and water” in violation of Illinois’ relatively-new, and some say ridiculous, law about how people must treat their pets.
It’s unclear whether the dog complained about the “wholesomeness” or “quality” of the food, or maybe the chlorine level in the water, which is fairly atrocious throughout Saline County; or maybe it was just the quantity, and if the dog was overweight, it complained about not getting enough.
If the laws continue to become more oppressive, maybe some legislator will come up with a way to ensure that “wholesome, good quality” dog food becomes eligible for purchase through SNAP with a LINK card.
Until that time, Ms. Vinyard was set back $200, as supplied by Jason Vinyard in the form of bond on Feb. 26. She too was set for that March 14 first appearance as her case makes its way through the court system.
Mounds man makes mistake
A Criminal Trespass to Residence charge was filed against a young Mounds man on March 2, when it was alleged that Drew A. Walsh, 22, entered the residence of James E. Davis on Pickering Road in Harrisburg on Feb. 19.
Davis is reported to have told Walsh to leave that evening when he was on the premises. Walsh might have been there to see one Alexa Rightnoward; she has a child with Walsh, and was accusing Walsh of mistreating said child. Walsh was accused of grabbing her by the arm and shoving her, but when Walsh was interviewed, he stated that she struck him first and he was merely defending himself.
He was arrested on not only the criminal trespass charge but also Domestic Battery, but the latter of the two didn’t make it to formal charges.
Walsh was set for a hearing March 21.
Left drunk, amorous hubby at Walmart
A Feb. 22 incident in Harrisburg resulted in a Feb. 25 filing of Domestic Battery against Kenneth L. Mitchell Jr., 35, when he is alleged to have gotten rough with a household member, Bobbie J. Mitchell, 33, in that he grabbed her.
The police report indicated that it was a little more that that, the situation arising when Bobbie said that at 9:43 that night, she called in to police stating that her husband was drunk and beating on the front door…and she wanted him removed.
When the officer arrived, the Missus Mitchell said she was at Walmart with Kenneth and he was “drunk and causing problems.” She said she tried to get him in the vehicle but he didn’t want to leave, so…she left him there at Walmart.
She went home, and he managed to get back, so she was telling police she wanted him out. But married domiciles being what they are, it was his house, too, she was told, and he was told he could remain there “as long as he didn’t cause problems.”
Less than an hour later, Mrs. Mitchell was back on the phone stating that hubby had “grabbed her and was pushing her…trying to kiss her and she was telling him no but he would not quit and just kept coming at her.”
So police arrived again, and about the time they pulled up, Kenneth ran out the front door. Cops found him a block behind the house on Longley Street. And there, they arrested him for Domestic Battery, because Bobbie had advised that her husband had grabbed her around the arm and was pushing on her, and she was in fear of him hurting her or one of the children.
Wayne Bruce of Herrin posted the $500 cash bond for Mitchell a couple of days later, ostensibly after Mitchell had a chance to sober up and be less amorous.
Mitchell’s court date was set for March 21.
Second Mitchell mess
Another Mitchell, this one Byron Andrew, 28, of Carrier Mills, was next up in the queue, charged on Feb. 23 with a Feb. 12 incident of Domestic Battery in which he’s accused of grabbing one Amber Mitchell.
How, where, and why he “grabbed” her isn’t made clear in court documents as, unlike others, there was not arrest report with this one.
However, the Mister Mitchell was told to stay away from the Missus (if indeed she is…that’s not clear either) Mitchell while out on bond, which set him back $500.