Whiteside County Sheriff

Less than a month after he was sentenced to probation in Lee County on a felony weapons charge, a Dixon man has been charged in Whiteside County with felony weapon and drug offenses.

A Thomson man has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of sexually assaulting and abusing a 17-year-old Fulton girl three years ago.

The role of the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office is to uphold and protect the right to protest – while also ensuring the safety of all participants, bystanders and the broader community.

The father of a Rock Falls man murdered Feb. 14 wants the Rock Falls police chief to resign after officers testified last month that several protocol violations happened during the investigation.

The trial of a former Rock Falls man facing up to 60 years in prison on sex assault and sex abuse charges will be delayed a month after prosecutors requested more time to review a report of new evidence in the case

As a Whiteside County deputy pulled up on a vehicle believed to be driven by a man considered a person of interest in another case, he said he discovered the wanted vehicle not only had a different driver but also more than 100 grams of meth stashed inside

One of the charges – unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of meth with intent to deliver – is a Class X felony that carries a possible 30-year prison sentence.

A Rock Falls man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2021 shooting that injured another man and damaged a Rock Falls home.

David Skinner, 62, was found not guilty of all seven counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 that he faced.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to up to 9 years in prison after admitting he set fire to his Sterling apartment last fall as officers arrived to investigate an aggravated battery reported at that address

John Trumbla, who fulfilled a prison sentence for a 1984 Cook County murder conviction, has been out on parole for a drug conviction since 2023 and was set to be discharged from that sentence in 2026. Arrested in another drug case Friday, he was granted pretrial release Tuesday.

A Rock Falls man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Whiteside County Circuit Court, then apologized for fatally stabbing the man, whom he considered a friend.

Mark T. Kelly, 54, of Eldridge, pleaded guilty Monday, May 19, to the charge, which is a Class X felony because he had had at least five previous DUI violations, according to Whiteside County court records.

A two-vehicle crash in rural Prophetstown on Wednesday afternoon left one man dead and another injured, according to a news release from the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office.

Carlos T. Loyola, 27, is charged in Whiteside County with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated domestic battery.

Just one day before Kyle Cooper was set to be tried on a first-degree murder charge in a Rock Falls stabbing case, attorneys announced they’ve reached a tentative plea agreement.

An ill detective and an abundance of pretrial motions – covering everything from whether to let a jury hear a 911 call to the possibility the Rock Falls Police Department violated investigative protocol – has led to a two-day delay in the start of a Rock Falls murder trial.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday, May 7, 2025, to fatally stabbing a man found severely injured last August in a vehicle that crashed in the hospital parking lot.

A Whiteside County judge will decide Friday, May, 9, whether Kyle Cooper’s trial will begin Tuesday, May 13. That decision will follow a hearing on whether the Illinois Attorney General's Office will be able to intervene in the case on behalf of the Illinois State Police.

Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker made the announcement Tuesday, May 6, 2025.

The teen’s name has not yet been officially released.

Kristophur Johnson was charged June 4, 2024, with sex assault as well as one count of aggravated battery accusing him of pushing a woman to the ground in the 18000 block of Blue Goose Road in rural Morrison and one count of unlawful restraint.

Kyle Cooper, 36, is accused of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel Gordon, 27, outside of a Rock Falls residence.

Brett A. Holcomb, 35, was arrested by Sterling police shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the 1500 block of West Fourth Street and taken to the Whiteside County Jail, where he remained jailed Thursday.

Kane, a full-service K-9 who will be working alongside Deputy Jacob Wilging, joins the department to assist in a variety of law enforcement functions.

A Whiteside County judge has directed the Illinois State Police to videotape blood and DNA testing to be carried out at the state crime lab in connection with a Rock Falls fatal stabbing case.

A Sterling woman has been charged with multiple traffic offenses, including two felonies, after police say she attempted to elude authorities in Rock Falls and ended up hitting a parked vehicle.

Michael W.T. Bennett Jr. will be moved from the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center in St. Charles to the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on May 17, the day he turns 18.

The Whiteside County Public Safety Tax Referendum passed with 3,667 votes for the measure and 2,907 against it. A total of 6,822 of the county’s 37,881 voters (18%) cast their ballots to decide the referendum’s fate.

According to unofficial vote totals, the measure passed with 55% approval on a vote count of 3,667 yes votes to 2907 no votes.

An Erie man has been sentenced in Whiteside County to four years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday, April 1, to sexually assaulting a teenager in 2020.

Contested races are taking place for two Rock Falls City Council seats, two Sterling City Council seats and Dixon Township highway commissioner. Whiteside County voters also are deciding the fate of a proposed public safety sales tax.

Whiteside County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, March 29, to the 6000 block of Cordova Road for a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash.

Kyle Cooper was to stand trial April 8 for the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon; however, that date was pushed until May 13 based on the prosecution’s request for more time.

Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman made the ruling Friday morning, allowing the case against Harrison Webb, 18, to proceed toward trial

Teen charged with attempted murder is accused of shooting two other teens shortly before 6 p.m. July 23 in the area of 13th Avenue and East Fifth Street in Sterling. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the head, and a 14-year-old boy was struck in the leg, police said.

A Sterling woman has pleaded guilty to mob action and been sentenced to probation in connection with a December 2024 home invasion in Sterling.

A Whiteside County judge has ruled that enough evidence exists to move forward with a criminal case that accuses a Sterling man of setting an October fire that destroyed a Galt home.

Sixteen fire departments were involved in the fire call.

Whiteside County deputies responded shortly before 8 a.m. Friday to 1706 E. Rock Falls Road following a 911 call reporting a disturbance.

Booker: I am writing to you today to strongly urge your support for the upcoming public safety tax measure. As the sheriff of Whiteside County, | have witnessed firsthand the growing demands placed on our law enforcement, fire and emergency services.

Testimony sheds more light on events leading up to Daniel Gordon's death on Feb. 14, 2025, after a fight in a Rock Falls driveway.

Rodney Swan has been held in the Whiteside County Jail since mid-January, when he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is accused of shooting himself in the thigh when a loaded gun tucked into his waistband discharged as he was pulling up his pants.

Several fire departments responded to an emergency call reporting a possible structure fire early Thursday morning.

A Rock Falls man wanted on an arrest warrant in connection with a Dec. 8 home invasion in Sterling has been taken into custody and is facing more charges.

Kyle M. Cooper, 36, is charged with murder in connection with the Feb. 14 death of Daniel J. Gordon, 27, who prosecutors say was stabbed after trying to break up an altercation between Cooper and Cooper's ex-girlfriend, who was dating Gordon.

Kyle M. Cooper, 36, of Rock Falls, is being held in the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on a first-degree murder charge as well as two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon.

The two men were formally charged Feb. 11, with the offenses alleged to have occurred Jan. 3, according to court records

According to a news release, Rock Falls police were dispatched at 1:50 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, for a reported stabbing in the 600 block of West 20th Street in Rock Falls.

Testimony in the case against LeAndrew T. Adams, 22, is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Whiteside County Courthouse in Morrison.