The Streator City Park shooting resulted in two arrests. The alleged gunman has been in jail while awaiting trial. The victim, alleged to have illegally carried a gun, was out on pre-trial release. No longer.

An Oglesby man was sentenced Thursday to 13 years in prison for a firearm charge filed in connection with a 2024 shooting in La Salle. The victim survived.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

Blair appeared Tuesday in La Salle County Circuit Court and, through his lawyer, asked Circuit Judge Michelle A. Vescogni to give him another crack at pre-trial release.

A Joliet man faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of driving under the influence during a May accident near Ottawa that killed a woman.

Prosecutors allege he tossed a “brick” of cocaine out his car window, sped from the cops, “side-swiped” a truck and then fled on foot. That was too much for a judge Thursday to let Ruemy Duarte Castenada out of La Salle County Jail.

Utica American Legion has reached a tentative settlement with the Utica Public Library: the Legion will vacate the library by Feb. 1.

As La Salle County begins a new calendar year, a theme is emerging among the murder suspects: So far, nobody has pleaded guilty. Three were convicted in 2025 at trial and Joe Navarro anticipates having to bring the remaining suspects to trial.

A Mendota man said he shot in self-defense. Prosecutors said the Mendota incident was a drive-by shooting. A La Salle County jury will have to settle that.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

A Streator man who set fire to the New Brite Spot in Ottawa in 2023 was sentenced Monday to a pair of four years for violating his probation for arson and for theft.

A La Salle man faces up to five years in prison if convicted of damaging eight La Salle police squad cars and an officer’s personal vehicle.

A Mendota man accused of tossing a kilo of cocaine out his vehicle window after fleeing a traffic stop now is charged with trafficking. Ruemy Duarte Castenada will spend Christmas in custody.

A Marseilles man was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for possessing a stolen gun.

Accused killer Joshua Casey doesn’t have a firm trial setting, but attorneys said Friday they’re aiming for May 4.

Tyshawn Doyle allegedly relayed a message to associates around Streator: He wanted witnesses silenced – either with gunfire or tainted drugs – and he named names.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

The suspect in the 2024 shooting at Streator City Park allegedly tried to silence would-be witnesses through murder and threats, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.

He choked his girlfriend with a shirt wrapped around her neck. Mendota police went to arrest him and a three-hour standoff ensued. Now, Shaquille Jones likely is going prison.

The triggerman in the Easter Sunday murder in Streator was sentenced Friday to 117 years.

An Ottawa man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a minor Friday and was sentenced to 30 years.

Kevin Billups of Peru was awaiting a jury trial for dealing cocaine – jurors were to be selected Monday – when he allegedly, and while on pre-trial release, sold another 2 ounces of cocaine.

She claimed to run a daycare service in Ottawa with earnings of $100,000. Ebony Green was actually a hair stylist earning a fraction of that. Yet she got a COVID-19 relief loan for nearly $20,000. Ebony Green may now go to prison for five years.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

Nicolaus Phillips will stand trial March 5 for the fatal shooting of an Ottawa man. Newly-filed court records show he plans to argue self-defense.

A Streator man was sentenced to 80 years in prison in the shooting that killed one and injured two others.

Logan Petre could one day walk out of prison, but he’ll be old man after serving his time for killing dad Leo Petre on Father’s Day weekend 2024.

An Earlville man faces up to 30 years in prison if downloading a video containing sexual images involving a child.

A Streator man was ordered held Friday in La Salle County Jail after police seized a loaded 9-mm and a silencer.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

A Missouri man was sentenced in St. Louis to more than 33 years in prison for assorted crimes, including some that were investigated in La Salle.

There was only an outside chance Ronald Martin Jr. would stand trial for murder in 2025. Friday, the question was put to rest: attorneys moved his case into the new year.

An Ottawa man was ordered detained Wednesday after being arrested twice for drugs, both times while wearing an ankle monitor.

An Ottawa man faces up to 30 years in prison if firing shots that struck and injured another Ottawa man, police said in a Friday press release.

Greg Vaccaro, La Salle County Circuit Clerk, was honored by the Illinois Supreme Court for his service as chairman of the Committee on Circuit Clerk Education Judicial College.

Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan, Jr. has announced that the newly-created website for the circuit launched on Oct. 14: www.13thjudicialil.gov

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, and returned the following indictments.

Authorities found two bodies in a July 17 residential fire in rural Sheridan. Ronald Martin Jr., already charged with firing the shots that killed them, now is accused of robbing them and setting the fire, too.

Two more defendants in the “Jane Doe” lawsuit against the city of Ottawa have been dropped from the case.

She was charged after a trio of Marseilles cocaine deals and given a notice to appear. After skipping a court date, she was arrested and placed on GPS monitoring. Now, police have recovered Caitlin Panas’ ankle bracelet, but no sign of her.

The suspect in the Streator City Park shooting will stand trial Feb. 2.

A Streator man who set fire to the New Brite Spot in Ottawa in 2023 admitted Friday to violating his probation. John F. Smith could go to prison this time.

He was facing up to 30 years for holding up a credit union in Streator – and then got caught with a gun – but Charles Spencer’s testimony helped put away a murderer and won him a break.

She is alleged to have hidden in an attic crawl space while drug agents raided her Streator home. That, a judge ruled Thursday, made Tiffany Daniels a bad risk for pre-trial release.

Police and prosecutors would like to see the SAFE-T Act repealed, which Springfield is unlikely to do. But can the act be fixed? Local law enforcement had a few suggestions.

A Streator woman was charged with multiple felonies after a Wednesday drug raid yielded purported crack and powder cocaine plus methamphetamine.

A La Salle County grand jury convened Tuesday and returned the following indictments.

Three Marseilles residents have sued the city of Marseilles in federal court in Chicago, alleging that city officials “retaliated” against them for exercising their rights to free speech

Circuit Court Judge Michelle A. Vescogni announced Monday her Republican candidacy to continue her service to the citizens of La Salle, Bureau, and Grundy Counties in the position to which she was appointed in the spring.

A La Salle man pleaded guilty Thursday to two firearm charges. Evan Boswell will go to prison for 18 months and then serve 48 months’ felony probation.