Deputy: Vehicle wanted in Rock Falls search found 2 hours later with new driver, meth

MORRISON – A Rock Falls man taken into police custody May 29 after the vehicle he was driving caught the eye of police as they worked on an unrelated case has pleaded not guilty to meth charges that could land him in prison for decades.

Gregory S. McElhiney, 42, pleaded not guilty Monda to charges of unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of meth with intent to deliver and unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of meth. He was formally charged with those offenses May 30.

During a preliminary hearing Monday at the Whiteside County Courthouse, Whiteside County Sheriff’s Deputy David Gottomoller testified about the circumstances that led to McElhiney’s arrest.

Gottomoller said that shortly after 6:30 p.m. May 29, he received information that a person of interest in another case had been seen leaving the Beverage Store in Rock Falls. Gottomoller said he was given a description of the vehicle, a silver Buick, but he was unable to find it.

A couple of hours later, Gottomoller saw a vehicle matching that description, with the same license plates, traveling on a street in Rock Falls. Gottomoller did not pull over the vehicle for a traffic stop but instead followed it until it drove down an alley and its driver parked it in a backyard.

Gottomoller said that although the vehicle was the same one he had been looking for earlier, the driver turned out to be McElhiney, who was not the same man police had been looking for.

Gottomoller said he soon determined that McElhiney was wanted on a warrant and was driving on a revoked license. A tow truck was called to tow the vehicle, a usual protocol, Gottomoller said, and the items inside the vehicle were inventoried.

That’s when police found 102 grams of meth, Gottomoller said. He said ⅛-ounce bags of the drug were found in a front seat compartment, as were hypodermic needles. More meth was found in packages in the vehicle, Gottomoller said.

McElhiney, who also was charged with driving on a revoked license, was brought to the Whiteside County Jail. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday and has demanded a speedy trial. Unlawful possession of 15 to 100 grams of meth with intent to deliver is a Class X felony that carries a possible 30-year prison sentence.

Before this arrest, McElhiney was charged in an August case with possession of weapons as a felon and criminal damage to property. He had been granted pretrial release in that case, but it was revoked in light of the newest charges, and he remains jailed.

McElhiney also is facing charges in two other cases, according to court documents. They are:

• an April 2024 case accusing him of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a revoked license. Both are misdemeanors.
• a May 2024 charge of driving on a revoked license, a misdemeanor.

He is set to make a court appearance at 9 a.m. June 25 at a pretrial conference in Whiteside County Circuit Court. A tentative trial date is set for July 15.