La Salle County Court

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.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, and returned the following indictments.

He was convicted of running a La Salle County drug ring and told in no uncertain terms he couldn’t possess a gun. Clarence Merritte now faces up to 30 years if convicted of handling a forbidden firearm.

An Ottawa murder trial has been postponed until spring.

Six people are accused of seeking government aid through false claims made during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Each now faces up to 15 years if convicted.

Two of the alleged fraudsters didn’t bother naming the business they claimed to own. Another claimed to own a limited liability corporation, but the LLC wasn’t created until after he got his money.

A Streator man charged with shooting three people, killing one, will stand trial for murder on March 3.

A Spring Valley man charged with trying to bilk a La Salle bank out of more than $17,000 will stand trial March 24 on two felonies.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Monday, Dec. 30, and returned the following indictments:

Cesar D. Jimenez-Preciado told police he was hauling hemp. Police said it field-tested positive for cannabis. Lab results favored Jimenez-Preciado and his charges were dismissed.

A homeless man charged in a pair of La Salle knife incidents pleaded guilty Friday to felony charges and was sentenced to four years in prison.

A Streator man accused of running a drugs and theft ring will stand trial March 17 on multiple felonies. Keith Gullens will stay in jail while awaiting his jury.

A Montgomery man was ordered held Thursday in La Salle County Jail for allegedly threatening a La Salle County judge in a pair of recorded phone calls.

A Montgomery man is being held in La Salle County Jail after allegedly threatening a judge, La Salle County Sheriff Adam Diss said in a Wednesday news release.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, and returned the following indictments.

La Salle County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is holding open registration until the end of December to train interested persons to be child advocates.

Dozens of Oglesby residents seek a structural change in city government and want it put to a referendum. A judge could decide next week whether to put it on the April 1 ballot.

A Streator woman charged in the “Bonnie & Clyde” crime spree pleaded guilty Thursday to three felonies. Ashley Moats is going to prison for five years.

A Streator man pleaded guilty Thursday to a 2023 shooting and was sentenced to 5-plus years in prison.

One of the suspects in Streator’s drug-theft ring has a Jan. 27 trial date. David Miller will stay in custody while he awaits trial.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, and returned the following indictments.

Tekeisha White is not getting out of jail Monday – the court wants proof a homeless shelter will take her in – but the arson suspect was granted pretrial release and will be cut loose if and when she has a verified place to stay.

An Ottawa woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to injuring a baby that was not her own and faces up to five years in prison when she’s sentenced on Jan. 16.

A Streator woman charged with residential burglary on back-to-back days – and who’d been granted pre-trial release after the first charge – pleaded guilty Wednesday and was granted probation with drug treatment.

An Oglesby man was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months’ probation for striking a man with a miniature sledgehammer. Darnell Williams must, however, serve a month in jail.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday, Nov. 19, and returned the following indictments.

Two of the defendants in the “Jane Doe” lawsuit against the city of Ottawa have been dropped from the case.

A La Salle man was granted pre-trial release Friday after prosecutors charged him with having unlawful sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl.

Police seized more than 200 grams of cocaine, multiple firearms and stolen goods worth more than $50,000. A trio of men are accused of overseeing the year-long criminal enterprise.

Four Streator men were charged Tuesday with the seldom-filed felony of criminal drug conspiracy. Streator police said other suspects in a drug and theft ring would be charged, as well.

The last charged suspect in the armed Ottawa home invasion, during which shots were fired, has pleaded guilty to a felony.

An Ottawa man serving 18 years for sexually assaulting a child struck out with an appeals court Thursday.

A judge was thinking about giving Nicholas Huber more of a shot at pre-trial release. A call from La Salle County Jail may have changed the judge’s mind.

A Streator man is charged with jumping out of a moving squad car and running from police. He had to be tased and was charged with having drugs on him.

The police searched the truck Sunday and found binoculars and bolt cutters in the cab. The trailer they were hauling was stolen. Both driver and passenger had been previously granted pre-trial release.

One of the suspects in a burglary-theft spree is back in custody.

Shots heard Sunday morning at Everett and Main streets in Streator were from a botched robbery. The man charged with firing those shots will be held in La Salle County Jail.

La Salle police and drug agents apprehended a suspect in a July shooting near a La Salle bar. Leeonta Patton will remain in custody while awaiting trial.

For the second time in less than a week, a Class X felony suspect is back in La Salle County Jail after authorities said he violated his pre-trial release.

A La Salle man charged with the sexual assault of a 10-year-old was ordered detained Monday after being charged with cutting off his ankle bracelet and trying to flee.

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

The man accused of pulling the trigger in the 2023 shooting death of an Ottawa man has completed a mental health evaluation and will stand trial for murder Jan. 13.

A man and a woman were arrested on residential burglary charges Thursday after being confronted and a warning shot fired, the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.