Laura Keck
QUINCY — The boy, now almost a teenager, sat in the witness chair and glared at Michael Williams, the family member who had assaulted him for years but now was about to be sentenced for his crimes. “I thought he was supposed to protect me, but he hurt me in ways no child should have…
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QUINCY — Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White announced late Tuesday afternoon the formation of a judicial screening committee for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The screening committee was formed to assess the qualifications of six people who applied for appointment to the office of at-large circuit judge for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The vacancy resulted…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man who was just days away from a trial for an attempted first-degree murder charge for ramming his vehicle into a vehicle driven by his estranged wife has pled guilty to a lesser charge and has been sentenced to two years of probation. Carl E. Douglas II, 48, appeared Wednesday morning with…
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QUINCY — The trial for Quincy man charged with attempted first-degree murder for ramming his vehicle into a vehicle driven by his estranged wife will go to trial in early December. Carl E. Douglas II, 48, appeared Friday morning with Chief Public Defender Jonathan Hoover in Adams County Circuit Court for a pretrial hearing. Hoover and…
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QUINCY — Before Jeremy Coleman left Adams County to begin his sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections, Sajuada Bonner wanted to make sure he heard her version of their story. Coleman pled guilty to two counts of armed violence, a Class X felony, and was sentenced by Circuit Judge Tad Brenner Monday morning in Adams…
Read Full Article Evidence shows Douglas' vehicle going 88 mph in crash with wife's car; judge denies pretrial release
QUINCY — Carl E. Douglas II slumped in his chair and rolled his eyes after Associate Circuit Court Judge Holly Henze ruled he would not be granted pretrial release on Wednesday afternoon. Douglas II, 48, appeared in Adams County Circuit Court with Chief Public Defender Jonathan Hoover to be arraigned. He pled not guilty to…
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QUINCY — A Hannibal man wanted on attempted first-degree murder charges since August 2022 was denied pretrial release for the second time on Wednesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court. Jayshon A. Levy, 21, appeared with Public Defender Mark Taylor before Judge Holly Henze. He has been charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder,…
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QUINCY — Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha recently announced changes in the state’s attorney’s office. Laura Keck, who has been with the state’s attorney’s office since November 2012, was promoted to lead trial attorney. She replaces Josh Jones, who started his new job as an associate judge in the Eighth Judicial Circuit in July. Jones and…
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QUINCY — Chief Judge Frank McCartney rattled off three reasons why the judges of the Eighth Judicial Circuit believe Josh Jones will be an excellent associate judge. Intelligent. Prepared. An effective litigator. McCartney, a judge during several cases Jones tried as an assistant state’s attorney in Adams County, offered one more reason. He turned to…
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QUINCY — A former deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, found guilty by an Adams County jury in May of two battery felonies, was sentenced Thursday afternoon to 48 months of probation and no additional jail time. Cody R. Shaffer, 31, of Loraine was found guilty of aggravated domestic battery by strangulation, a Class 2…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man facing child pornography charges was sentenced to eight years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on Monday morning. James E. Phillips, 50, of Quincy appeared in Adams County Circuit Court with Public Defender John Citro before Judge Tad Brenner. Phillips agreed to plead guilty to two counts of pornography with…
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QUINCY — The mother of a 13-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted last September said nothing could prepare her for how to write or read a victim impact statement. “Where do you start when nobody prepares you to find your child, running from the woods screaming and crying, ‘He’s coming, and he has a knife.…
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QUINCY — Both sides got something — but not everything they hoped for — on Tuesday night when an Adams County jury of six men and six women found a former deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department guilty of two felonies but not guilty of the most serious charge leveled against him. A two-day…
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QUINCY — After hearing Brittany Abercrombie’s harrowing story about what she said happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 27, 2023, an Adams County jury heard a completely different version on Tuesday morning. Cody Shaffer, 31, of Loraine testified on his behalf during the second day of his trial in Adams County Circuit Court…
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QUINCY — An Adams County jury of six men and six women listened to a recording Monday afternoon during which a Loraine woman, nine months pregnant at the time, claims she was strangled, bitten and had a loaded gun shoved into her throat and pointed at her stomach by her boyfriend. The jury trial for…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man facing a charge of attempted first-degree murder made his first appearance in Adams County Circuit Court on Tuesday afternoon. Thomas Delcour, 34, appeared with Sarah Lucey, an assistant appellate defender for Adams County, before Judge Scott Larson. Larson read the charges to Delcour during his hearing. Charging documents filed in…
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QUINCY — The trial for a former deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department charged with beating his nine-month pregnant girlfriend with a pistol was continued for one month after the defense learned one of the prosecution’s witnesses started taking Xanax three days ago. Cody R. Shaffer, 31, of Loraine appeared in Adams County Circuit…
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QUINCY — The trial for a former deputy with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department charged with three felonies, including beating his nine-month pregnant girlfriend with a pistol, will begin Monday in Adams County Circuit Court. Cody R. Shaffer, 31, of Loraine has been charged with: Jury selection will begin Monday, April 8. The judge will…
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QUINCY — The family of a 13-year-old girl who received pictures of an 18-year-old man’s penis agreed Monday to support a plea deal struck by the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office. However, the victim’s father didn’t sound overly pleased when he read a victim impact statement. Neither did Judge Tad Brenner. Giorgio Raad, now 19,…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man is expected to be sentenced to probation after agreeing to accept a plea. Giorgio Raad, 19, appeared Tuesday morning with attorney Drew Schnack in Adams County Circuit Court before Judge Tad Brenner. Raad was arrested and charged in November with one count of grooming, a Class 4 felony, and one count of…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man facing up to 67 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections has waived his right to a jury trial after agreeing to a plea. William Dees, 33, appeared Tuesday morning with attorney Drew Schnack in Adams County Circuit Court before Judge Tad Brenner. Dees’ case was set to be on…
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QUINCY — Devyn Budde tried to explain Thursday morning how the smell of Doritos now reminds her of the sexual abuse her stepdaughter endured at the hands of Jeremy McSparren. McSparren, who appeared in Adams County Circuit Court, was sentenced to 24 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Kevin Tippey. A December…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man facing between one and three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, if found guilty of a Class 4 felony grooming charge, was allowed Friday to return to classes at the University of Illinois. First, however, the state’s flagship school at Urbana-Champaign must be willing to take him back. Giorgio…
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Plainville man with more than 80,000 pornographic images, videos on cellphone given 12-year sentence
QUINCY — Judge Tad Brenner called Joshua Cress, who had more than 80,000 pornographic images and videos on his cellphone, a “very, very predatory and dangerous individual” when handing down a 12-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections Monday morning. Cress, 43, of Plainville appeared in Adams County Circuit Court on Monday morning with…
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QUINCY — A Quincy man indicted in October 2022 on multiple sex offense charges chose not to accept a plea agreement and tried to get a new lawyer before agreeing to have a bench trial in December. Aaron Washington, 47, appeared with Chief Public Defender Todd Nelson before Judge Robert Adrian on Wednesday afternoon in…
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