Sterling felon faces new drug charges

DIXON – A Sterling felon convicted less than a year ago of threatening over social media to kill two Reagan Middle School students faces new drug charges in Whiteside County.

Blake A. Keane, 21, and an unidentified 15-year-old Morrison juvenile were arrested about 9 p.m. April 5 at the Magnuson Hotel, 443 state Route 2, accused of trying to sell methamphetamine to two Lee County sheriff’s deputies, according to a news release.

Keane was charged April 8 with possession of less than five grams of meth with the intent to deliver, which carries three to seven years; possession of meth and possession of 30 to 500 grams of cannabis, both of which carry two to five years in prison.

The boy, whom authorities will not identify because of his age, is charged with meth delivery and possession of fewer than 5 grams of meth.

Keane, who already was on pretrial release with a GPS monitor in a pending Whiteside County case in which he was charged Feb. 9 with being a felon in possession of a weapon and misdemeanor possession of ammunition without a Firearm Owner’s Identification card, was released.

The juvenile was released to their parents.

Then, on April 9, Keane was charged in Whiteside County with possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine, punishable by one to three years, and with misdemeanor possession of 10 to 30 grams of cannabis on March 3.

He still is free under pretrial release conditions in Whiteside, where he has a hearing April 29.

He also was freed Thursday in Lee County on pretrial release; his next hearing there is May 1.

Keane was arrested Feb. 8 on the weapons charge during a traffic stop in Rock Falls targeting a 17-year-old accused of shooting a woman in the leg, an incident to which investigators said Keane has no connection. He faces three to seven years on the felony. He has a pretrial hearing May 22.

As for his past criminal history, he was convicted July 20 in Lee County Court and sentenced to 2½ years of probation, but allowed conditional discharge, for threatening the Dixon middle schooler students. Keane pleaded guilty to harassment through electronic communication, which could have brought him one to four years in prison. As part of a plea agreement, one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct was dismissed.

A petition to revoke his probation was filed the day before his arrest on the meth dealing charges, because of the weapons charges that stemmed from the traffic stop. He has a hearing May 9 on the petition.

Keane allegedly threatened the students on Aug. 25, 2022, prompting a lockout of Reagan and Madison Elementary schools that afternoon. The threats were not random, the prosecution said.

Keane also was charged Sept. 26, 2022, in Bureau County court with possession of ammunition without a FOID card. He pleaded guilty July 26, 2023, to the misdemeanor and was fined $614. He failed to pay or to appear in court to explain the failure, so $184.20 was added to his tab and on Oct. 18 it was sent to a collections agency Oct. 18.

In other weapons-related cases, Keane was sentenced Nov. 10, 2022, in Whiteside County to 1½ years in prison for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was charged March 2, 2021, in that case with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, which also is punishable by one to four years, and two counts of possession of ammunition without a FOID card and possession of marijuana by a driver, both misdemeanors. Those charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

According to court records, that March 1, Keane – who previously was adjudicated a delinquent minor for an act that, had he been an adult, would have been a felony – had in his possession a Glock pistol and ammunition.

He also has a misdemeanor weapons conviction in Lee County, where he was charged July 19, 2021, with bringing brass knuckles to the 2021 Petunia Festival. He pleaded guilty May 6, 2022, and was fined $549, court records show. The bond he posted in that case was used to pay the fine.