La Salle County Court

Chester Weger still is set for what attorneys termed a "mini-trial" – a chance to prove he didn’t commit the Starved Rock murders – but Weger’s judge set limits on what evidence can be disclosed before trial.

A Streator man charged with felony weapons offenses after a shooting – two rounds were fired into a Streator home – is headed to prison for three years.

A Streator man accused of strangling a woman still is trying to find a lawyer. Joshua Casey’s detention hearing was moved to April 17 while he looks for one.

A La Salle man faces up to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to felony charges stemming from a gun and drug seizure.

A Chicago man is headed to prison for nine years for selling fentanyl-laced heroin to undercover agents in Utica.

A Streator man accused of strangling a woman was indicted Tuesday for murder.

Drug agents said they seized a pair of .9-mm pistols, 34 grams (.07 pounds) of purported cocaine and 151 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms. The man charged in connection with the seizure was granted release from La Salle County Jail – for now, anyway.

A Streator woman was released from La Salle County Jail, with conditions, after being charged Thursday with repeatedly firing a pistol in the 100 block of East Sumner Street. There were no injuries.

A Streator man charged with strangling a woman still doesn’t have a lawyer and isn’t ready to argue detention.

Two judges and a former state’s attorney are among the 11 applicants for the circuit judgeship vacated by Cynthia M. Raccuglia, who retired recently due to medical issues.

A Spring Valley man was put on probation Thursday after pleading guilty to trying to bilk a La Salle bank out of more than $17,000.

A registered child sex offender pleaded guilty Thursday to loitering near Ransom grade school. Tomure Adams could face three years in prison.

An Ottawa man faces a mandatory trip to prison if convicted of delivering more than 15 grams of cocaine to undercover agents. Three more suspects were charged in sting operations.

La Salle County Circuit Clerk Greg Vaccaro announced Monday the Illinois Supreme Court has awarded a Court Technology Modernization grant in the amount of $171,980 to the La Salle County courts.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

Eleven candidates have applied for the circuit judgeship vacancy created by the retirement of Cynthia M. Raccuglia.

Investigators obtained two admissions from Streator murder suspect Joshua Casey and think they have a motive for why Casey allegedly strangled Jessica Balma.

A Streator man faces a mandatory trip to prison if convicted of illegally possessing a firearm, seized during a Sunday traffic stop that also yielded cocaine. But William Phillips faces less serious charges than police anticipated after his arrest near Lostant.

A Streator man awaits a detention hearing after La Salle County deputies seized an illegal firearm and drugs from a Sunday traffic stop near Lostant.

Chester Weger is moving to Missouri.

A Streator woman was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for dealing drugs and for a botched robbery in Streator, during which shots were fired. No one was injured.

A Streator man will be held in La Salle County Jail for at least the next two weeks after prosecutors charged him with strangling Jessica Balma inside a Streator residence.

Authorities have identified the body found Tuesday in a Streator residence and a Streator man is charged with killing her.

A Chicago man is headed to prison after pleading guilty Thursday to selling fentanyl-laced heroin to undercover agents.

A Streator man will be held in La Salle County Jail for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl under 13.

Nicolaus Phillips said his rights were violated when he was said to have made incriminating statements about the shooting death of Eric Clements in Ottawa. Tuesday, prosecutors said there were no such violations.

A Montgomery man agreed to a plea deal Friday that avoided further jail time for him for threatening a La Salle County judge in a pair of recorded phone calls.

About a week after Eric Clements was shot to death outside his Ottawa home, the alleged triggerman spoke to police. Now, Nicolaus Phillips wants a judge to throw out the statement.

That was no firecracker thrown into a fire pit at Hi-Tide Campground near Leland, a judge ruled Thursday. It was a gunshot. Joseph Pawelczyk was found guilty of firing it.

A parolee was wanted for three alleged drug deals conducted in 2024. When the police caught him, they said they found 5 ounces (about one-third pound) of purported cocaine. Mariano Verucchi now faces up to 40 years in prison.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

Another suspect has been apprehended in the Streator drug and theft ring.

An Ottawa man was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in prison for an armed Ottawa home invasion, during which shots were fired.

A Marseilles man will stand trial April 28 for allegedly setting fire to his brother’s house while his brother was trapped inside.

A Marseilles man accused of killing his dad on Father’s Day weekend waived his right to a jury trial Wednesday. Logan Petre will stand trial before a judge May 28.

La Salle County’s first female judge is calling it a career.

A teen was put on probation Oct. 29 for bringing a gun on into Ottawa High School. The next day, he was charged with possessing a stolen car. Now, he’s headed into residential treatment.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

An Ottawa woman pleaded guilty to setting a Thanksgiving Day fire that damaged an Ottawa residence, though no one was injured. She was sentenced to eight years in prison.

The alleged getaway driver in the 2023 shooting death in Ottawa will stand trial May 19.

Jeffrey Peterson was under a no-contact order with his brother when he allegedly set fire to the brother's house. That was enough for a judge to order Peterson detained.

Jeffrey Peterson allegedly hurled gas-filled balloons into a Marseilles basement bedroom, setting fire to the house and briefly trapping the victim inside.

Derek Hornick cut a deal Friday that didn’t end all his legal troubles – he still faces up to 30 years for drugs – but which at least got him out of La Salle County Jail. He lasted four days.

One of the suspects in the COVID-19 relief scams still awaits a trial setting. James Forbes might have to first settle his lingering gun and drug charges from 2022.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

Lawyers for Chester Weger have termed it a “mini-trial” and said they’ll introduce evidence, not available decades ago, showing Weger was wrongly convicted of murder. The mini-trial begins May 12.

Was it a firecracker or a gunshot heard last summer at Hi-Tide Campground near Leland? A Streator man needs a judge to believe it was a firecracker or he could face prison.

One of the Jan. 6 protesters pardoned on Monday is a La Salle County man who served part of an 18-month sentence.

An Ottawa woman who injured a baby that was not her own was sentenced Thursday to 30 months probation but also ordered to serve three months in jail.

A Marseilles man accused of running a stash house stocked with guns and drugs pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple felonies and was sentenced to eight years in prison.