Police News 10-08-14
Domestic Disturbance Leads To Arrest (Canton, IL) -- A Canton man was arrested after police were dispatched to a domestic disturbance on East Locust Street in Canton over the weekend. Police say they responded to a call Saturday afternoon at just after 3 but could not locate the complainant right away. Officers finally located the 42-year old Canton woman at a residence on Fulton Place. A witness to the incident told police that the victim had been hit in the head. Officers did observe a knot on the back of the head of the victim. Authorities say that the victim and the suspect, 45-year old Todd L. Rench were arguing over a dog. Rench was arrested at about 8 Saturday night after he was finally located at his residence. Rench was taken to the Canton Police Department where he was processed on a charge of domestic battery and was later taken to the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown.
Canton Man Facing Criminal Damage To Property Charge (Canton, IL) -- Canton police arrested a Canton man over the weekend after responding to a possible domestic disturbance at an address on West Pine Street. Authorities say upon arrival at the residence in the 300 block of West Pine Sunday night at about 10:45 they found that a window on a vehicle had been smashed. Authorities say that the incident occurred when 28-year old Wendell R. Smizer heard the victim, a 26-year old Canton female on the phone talking with her ex-husband. He then began kicking and punching a vehicle and eventually climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and kicked the windshield, smashing it. Smizer was then arrested and taken to the Canton Police Department where he was processed on a charge of criminal damage to property. Smizer posted a $150 cash bond and a $20 processing fee and was then released with a November Fulton County Court date.
Canton Woman Arrested For Driving With Suspended Driver's License (Canton, IL) -- A Canton woman was arrested over the weekend after she was spotted driving by Canton police who knew she had a suspended driver's license. Police made the traffic stop Sunday morning at just after 1:15. 25-year old Lacey D. Fitch was charged with driving a motor vehicle with a suspended driver's license. She was given a notice to appear at the scene and released. Fitch has a November Fulton County Court date.
CrimeStoppers Tip Leads To Active Warrant Arrest (Canton, IL) -- A Canton man wanted on an active warrant was arrested over the weekend in Canton. Police say they received a Fulton County CrimeStoppers tip that 27-year old Anthony R. Spencer was at 39 South 6th Avenue. Spencer was wanted on a 2014 Mason County Warrant failure to appear for property damage and trespass to residence. He was arrested and taken to the Canton Police Department where he was processed for the warrant. Spencer was unable to post bond and was taken to the Fulton County Jail to await being picked up by Mason County authorities.
Guilty Plea In Peoria Club Owner's Death (Peoria, IL) -- A Marquette Heights man has been sentenced to 27-years in prison for the stabbing death of a Peoria nightclub owner a year ago. Thirty-year-old Bryan Stewart pleaded guilty yesterday to aggravated arson and second-degree murder in the death last October of Todd Scholl. Stewart had claimed the two men had fought and that he stabbed Scholl in self-defense, though Scholl's burned body showed more than just stab wounds when it was found in a storage room of a building on Perry Avenue. Originally charged with first-degree murder and arson, Stewart pleaded guilty to lesser charges that could result in his release after 15-years.
Imprisoned Peoria Man Convicted Of Armed Violence (Peoria, IL) -- A Peoria man is scheduled to be sentenced next month after he was found guilty Monday of armed violence. A judge handed down the verdict to 26-year-old Dieuseul Brown during the bench trial. The defendant is already serving a prison sentence of 24 years for second degree murder in the same incident. A witness pointed out Brown from a lineup as the person connected to the murder of Kelsey Coleman. The defendant is scheduled for sentencing on November 5th.
Man Sentenced For Impersonating TV Weatherman (Davenport, IA) -- A Davenport man is receiving probation and a fine after being convicted of impersonating a TV weatherman. "The Muscatine Journal" reports Matt Wendt pleaded guilty last month to identity theft for using the identity of KWQC-TV meteorologist Greg Dutra to meet women on social media. Wendt was sentenced to one-year probation and fined 625-dollars.