QUINCY — Judge Roger Thomson appointed standby counsel for Bradley Yohn, a Springfield man charged with four Class X felonies in Adams County in connection with a Nov. 9, 2021 sexual assault case who is defending himself for a second time. Thomson selected public defender Todd Nelson, Yohn’s attorney from July 20 until Thomson dismissed […]
Josh Jones
Quincy woman receives five-year sentence for unlawful delivery of heroin, Xanax
QUINCY — A Quincy woman received a five-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections on Wednesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court. Caitlin Dietiker, 32, pled guilty to two charges of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance on July 13 in exchange for a prison term of no longer than 10 years. Judge Roger […]
Yohn dismisses second public defender, will defend himself again; says he’s ‘being treated like an animal, like an Afghan terrorist’
QUINCY — Bradley Yohn is defending himself for a second time. The Springfield man, charged with four Class X felonies in Adams County in connection with a Nov. 9, 2021 sexual assault, filed a motion on Aug. 24 to claim public defender Todd Nelson has been ineffective as his counsel and asked to represent himself […]
Blackledge writes that counsel was ‘less than efficient’ and asks for sentence to be vacated … then tells judge otherwise
QUINCY — Karen Blackledge sent a letter to the Adams County Circuit Clerk on July 27, saying her legal representation was “less than efficient and effective” and led her to agree May 5 to two 20-year sentences to the Illinois Department of Corrections. However, when Judge Amy Lannerd asked Friday during a motion hearing in […]
Public defender given $2,500 budget to find psychiatrist in case against Quincy man charged in fatal Memorial Day crash
QUINCY — Judge Amy Lannerd approved for public defender Todd Nelson to spend as much as $2,500 for an expert witness in the case against a Quincy man charged in a fatal Memorial Day crash. Breeden Wike, 20, appeared Thursday afternoon for a motion hearing in Adams County Circuit Court. He faces felony charges of […]
Illinois Attorney General’s Office: “Adams County has acknowledged that its closed session discussions…were improper”
QUINCY — The Illinois Attorney General’s office has received the recordings of the closed sessions of the Adams County Board and Finance Committee meetings for May and acknowledged the board’s actions were “improper”.
Adams County State’s Attorney’s office turns over recordings of May closed session County Board, Finance Committee meetings
QUINCY — Between the closed sessions of both the May 10 Adams County Board meeting and the May 6 Adams County Finance Committee meeting, County Board members spent a combined hour attempting to twist arms for a unanimous vote on salary increases and discussing the political ramifications of holding a vote just before an election.
Dietiker accepts 10-year cap on prison term as part of plea; drug-induced homicide charges dropped
QUINCY — A Quincy woman pled guilty Wednesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court to two charges of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in exchange for a prison term of no longer than 10 years. Dietiker, 22, was set to enter a plea on May 11 when her attorney, public defender Todd Nelson, told […]
Judge rules Adams County State’s Attorney’s office can no longer prosecute Wiley first-degree murder case
QUINCY — Judge Michael Atterberry ruled Wednesday morning in Adams County Circuit Court the Adams County State’s Attorney’s office will no longer be allowed to participate in the prosecution of a Quincy man charged with first-degree murder. Travis Wiley, 34, appeared Wednesday morning before Atterberry. He was set to go to trial July 18 on […]
With jury selection set to begin, trial is delayed as Yohn asks for attorney to be assigned; plans to ‘fire him later’ and continue defending himself
QUINCY — The trial of Bradley Yohn in Adams County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning started with Judge Roger Thomson addressing a series of motions filed by Yohn last week. It ended moments before jury selection was set to begin when Yohn told Thomson, “I can’t do this.” Thomson eventually set a July 6 hearing […]
Motion hearing in Yohn case addresses cell phone data, discovery and evidence — and office supplies
QUINCY — A motion hearing in Adams County Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon in front of Judge Roger Thomson addressed motions by Bradley Yohn to bar evidence in other cases, suppress cell phone data and disclose discovery from the Adams County State’s Attorney’s office. However, the hearing eventually boiled down to legal pads, pens and […]
Yohn says he will ‘most definitely’ be ready to defend himself when his trial begins June 21
QUINCY — When Judge Roger Thomson asked Bradley Yohn if he would be ready for the first day of his trial on June 21, Yohn replied, “Oh, yes sir, most definitely.” Yohn is defending himself Pro Se against charges of carjacking and home invasion in Adams County filed in November 2021. He appeared in Adams […]
Judge denies public defender’s request to release McBride from Adams County Jail
QUINCY — Judge Amy Lannerd denied on Monday Chief Public Defender Todd Nelson’s motion seeking the release of Natasha McBride, who is charged in connection with a fatal 2020 traffic crash, from the Adams County Jail. Lannerd cleared the courtroom for approximately 30 minutes to discuss the motion with Nelson and Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones […]
Public defender to re-file motion to have aggravated driving under influence count against McBride dismissed
QUINCY — A hearing has been set for 3 p.m. March 18 to determine whether a charge of aggravated driving under the influence filed against Natasha L. McBride should be dismissed. McBride faces four counts of murder in connection to the Aug. 14, 2020, deaths of Jenniffer Hendricks, 54, of Rushville, and Dakota Corrick, 6, […]
Trial for Quincy woman pushed back to March as state’s attorney’s office waits for lab reports
QUINCY — The trial for a Quincy woman allegedly involved in a carjacking, kidnapping and burglary in November in Adams County has been pushed back to March. Karen Blackledge, 33, was in Adams County Circuit Court on Tuesday morning for what was expected to be a pretrial hearing. However, Josh Jones, lead trial attorney for […]
Trial for Quincy woman charged in 2020 crash that killed four moved to April
QUINCY — The trial of a Quincy woman charged in connection with the 2020 crash that killed four people has been moved to April. Public Defender Todd Nelson filed a motion on Wednesday in Adams County Circuit Court to continue the case against Natasha McBride, 37. She faces four counts of murder in connection to […]
McBride murder trial won’t start until opinion of her fitness to stand trial is submitted
QUINCY — A pre-trial hearing date for a Quincy woman facing four murder charges remains unchanged, but a report from a Chicago psychiatrist could change that. Judge Scott Larson ruled Friday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court that he would grant Josh Jones, lead trial attorney for the Adams County State’s Attorney’s office, more time […]
“…I can’t be fair with you today. Get out.” Adrian throws assistant state’s attorney out of courtroom for social media ‘comment’
QUINCY — Judge Bob Adrian threw Josh Jones, lead trial attorney for the Adams County State’s Attorney’s office, out of his courtroom Wednesday morning for a “comment” Jones recently made on social media. Jones and Adrian were in courtroom 1B for status hearings on a series of felony cases in Adams County Circuit Court. After […]
St. Louis man who recorded act of throwing cat against wall gets four-year prison term
QUINCY — A St. Louis man was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to throwing a cat against a wall in 2018, recording it and sending the video to his wife. Trevor Moncrief, 35, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. He was living in Quincy when the […]
Motion to suppress cellphone evidence denied in Wiley murder case
QUINCY — A motion to suppress evidence obtained from a cellphone was denied by Judge Bob Adrian during a hearing Thursday morning in the first-degree murder case for Travis Wiley in Adams County Circuit Court. A pretrial hearing for Wiley’s case has been set for Oct. 18, with jury selection set to begin Oct. 25. […]
Trial date for Quincy nightclub owner tentatively set for Jan. 10
QUINCY — A date has been tentatively set for the trial of a Quincy nightclub owner charged with one count of aggravated battery in the reported assault of a female student at Quincy University. Judge Amy Lannerd set the date for the trial of Steven W. Homan, 47, for Jan. 10, 2022. during a status […]
Kelley’s father ready to start ‘healing process’ as Parker gets 20-year sentence for second-degree murder
QUINCY — Roger Parker Jr., who claimed he grew tired of being bullied by Darrell “D.J.” Kelley Jr. and shot him to death on Sept. 26, 2019, was sentenced to 20 years on Friday morning in an Adams County courtroom. Parker, 18, pled guilty in May to one count of second-degree murder. He was 16 […]
Quincy teen pleads guilty to attempted murder, will serve at least 20 years
QUINCY — When Keith W. Young III entered Courtroom 2B of the Adams County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon, the first thing he did was ask a bailiff for hand sanitizer. “I haven’t showered in three days,” Young told the bailiff through a blue-paper mask. “They got me on suicide watch …” Then Young muttered something […]
