Whiteside County Sheriff

One dead following Sunday house fire in rural Sterling.

Firefighters discovered a body Monday at the scene of a fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in rural Sterling, Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker has confirmed.

Sterling and Rock Falls firefighters and CGH EMS were called to 5500 Mill Street in Emerson around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, for a reported structure fire with flames and smoke visible.

All evidence at this time indicates this to be an isolated incident in which a man died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Sterling Police Department news release.

Baylee J. Gipson, 25, is wanted on a Whiteside County arrest warrant on charges of home invasion/causing injury, criminal trespass to property/persons present, mob action/force/more than two people; and battery with physical contact, according to court documents.

A Rock Falls man accused of outrunning police twice will remain detained in the Whiteside County Jail after a judge ruled he poses too much of a risk to be released.

Shaw Local has been covering numerous court cases this year as they move through the courts in Lee and Whiteside counties. Here are a few of the high-profile cases we have covered in the past year.

Jordan L. Kaye taken into custody in Sterling on Whiteside, Rock Island county arrest warrants.

A Sterling man is charged with several weapon and drug violations accusing him of being armed while possessing cannabis and intending to deliver the drug.

The Rock Falls City Council heard a report Tuesday night about the consequences of a failed referendum that would have instated a 0.5% sales tax throughout Whiteside County to help fund emergency dispatch services.

Harrison Webb, charged with attempted murder, is accused of walking from his Rock Falls home to Sterling, going into the restaurant’s kitchen, and with less than two feet separating them, shooting a 17-year-old worker in the back of the neck.

The 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released by authorities because he is a juvenile, also is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, felony burglary and unlawful possession of a stolen firearm.

A Rock Falls teen was treated at a local hospital and released after he was shot in the neck Wednesday night at Sterling’s Pizza Ranch, police say.

Despite his insistence that he is a changed man, a Rock Falls felon was sentenced to up to 18 years in prison Wednesday in connection with a December 2023 standoff at a Dixon hotel.

Lee County voters support Amboy, Harmon fire departments' merger.

Sheriff: Measure will be on the April 2025 ballot.

Johnathon P. Parker, 40, was taken into custody Saturday night, Nov. 2, 2024, in the 1600 block of Riverdale Road, Rock Falls, after a 10-hour standoff over two days with police, according to Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker.

Johnathon P. Parker is being held in the Whiteside County Jail.

Sterling police detective says during Monday preliminary hearing that investigation continues into whether more people will be charged.

Brett Cahoone charged with nine counts, remains jailed in Whiteside County.

Steven W. Coleman was sentenced Thursday for three counts of murder, three aggravated arson charges, and a residential arson charge. All seven sentences will be served consecutively to each other.

Brian McPhillips, 32, of Rock Falls, who police initially identified as a Sterling resident, has been cited with unsafe passing and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, according Whiteside County court documents.

Brian McPhillips, 32, of Sterling was driving east on U.S. 30 near Riverdale Road when he attempted to pass an eastbound semi, met a westbound semi and collided with both, according to a Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office news release.

When deputies arrived at the scene they discovered the driver, Angela Appel, 48, of Thomson, was pinned in the vehicle, according to a news release.

Terrence D. Montgomery, 39, is wanted in connection with an incident that police say occurred in August 2022 in Sterling, according to a news release issued Friday by the Sterling Police Department.

Paul S. Cobane, 43, was taken into custody at 12:45 p.m. Friday in the 1200 block of Sixth Avenue, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon by the Sterling Police Department.

Whiteside County voters on Tuesday, Nov. 5, will decide whether to OK a new 0.5% public safety tax that would bring in about $2M annually to fund 911 emergency dispatch call center services or leave their city’s administration to figure out how to foot their share of the bill.

Sterling police say three arson arrest warrants have been issued for a Sterling man who is accused of running from police Wednesday during a domestic battery investigation and then barricading himself in his West Fifth Street apartment shortly before fire broke out there.

Jasen Bell’s death is being investigated as a homicide, police say.

Prosecutor says 6,000 grams of heroin discovered in vehicle's hidden compartments during Interstate 88 traffic stop.

An Oct. 15 trial date has been set in Whiteside County Circuit Court.

The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with God’s Will Giving Center and encourages people to show support by joining in fulfilling current needs.

The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office and Mounted Patrol Youth Fishing Derby will be from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Rockwood State Park, Morrison.

A Philadelphia man is behind bars in Whiteside County, charged with trafficking and possessing 150 pounds of cannabis that he said he stole in northern California and was driving to the Chicago area to sell.

Robert A. Ager of Sterling charged with 3 counts of murder in connection with the death.

Responding deputies, with the assistance of the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit, determined the motorcycle was traveling north on Sand Road when it left the road and continued north in the east ditch of Sand Road before coming to rest on its side.

It has been four years since Jason Chapman of Como was found fatally shot in his yard. With no suspects or arrests in the case, his parents do not want the community to forget their son’s unsolved death.

Sterling police officers were notified of a shooting that had occurred shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday in the area of 13th Avenue and East Fifth Street, Sterling.

The Fulton Police Department faces a “dire and unprecedented” staffing shortage, Police Chief Nicholas Neblung told the Fulton City Council last month. His department is not alone.

A Morrison man was seriously injured Monday when his motorcycle and a vehicle collided in rural Sterling.

Deputies respond to report of child, vehicle in the Rock River; submerged vehicle pulled from water 5 hours later

Ryan Poulter accused of drawing firearm from waistband; faces multiple weapons charges.

In late September, the Twin Cities Communications Center in Sterling will close, and the dozen 911 dispatchers who work there will join eight coworkers in the Whiteside County Law Enforcement Center in Morrison.

Alexis Echebarria loves her work, doesn’t seek recognition for her job as the first point of contact during an emergency.

The driver of a semitractor-trailer charged with improper passing in the death of a tractor driver in Rock Falls is scheduled to appear in Whiteside County traffic court in Sterling on May 13.

The driver of the pickup truck that investigators say failed to stop at an intersection, resulting in the death of his three passengers, was cited for failure to stop and for violating his graduated license restrictions.

Whiteside County authorities have released the name of a man killed Wednesday morning when the tractor he was driving was hit by a semitractor-trailer on Route 40.

One person was killed Wednesday morning when the tractor that he was driving was hit by a semitractor-trailer on Route 40 at the intersection of Route 172/Star Road south of Rock Falls, according to a news release from Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker.

Participants are needed for a procession of vehicles from the church to the cemetery Thursday for one of the three Tampico teens killed last week in a traffic collision.

Funeral services are set for the three Tampico boys killed Thursday in a traffic collision outside the village.