Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Molt has taken under advisement two motions filed by the attorney representing first degree murder suspect Brodey I. Murbarger. Murbarger is awaiting trial on multiple charges related to the disappearance and murder of 15-year-old Megan Nichols of Fairfield. On Tuesday, Murbarger's attorney, Christian Baril argued a motion to move his client's trial out of Wayne County because of too much pretrial publicity. He also filed a motion to sever charges in the case. Murbarger faces multiple charges related to the alleged murder as well as a number of criminal sexual abuse and home invasion charges. Murbarger's attorney wants a jury to decide those charges separately. The motion to sever charges will be argued during a hearing set for August 25. In support of his motion for a change of venue, Murbarger's attorney submitted five separate exhibits to the court for its consideration. Judge Molt wrote that in the event he denies the defense m
The Fairfield City Council met Tuesday night. After approval of minutes and bills, Joseph Harrelson of 809 George St. addressed the council during public session. Harrelson, who has resided on George St. for 14 years is seeking extra patrols and help from the city to address issues in his neighborhood, which he says is a drug area that needs to be cleaned up. Harrelson claims to have had his property damaged on multiple occasions, including the breaking of the windows on his house and the killing of his dogs. In routine business, the purchase of a police vehicle was pulled from the agenda due to the dealership being unable to take the order for the truck until October. The council discussed the police eligibility list stating that as of last Friday the city had four applicants, however one applicant had withdrawn. Of the three remaining, all passed the written testing and will be allowed to do the physical agility testing on Saturday. Over 20 people have now tested over the past month,
40-year-old Ray E. Tate, Jr., appeared in Wayne County Circuit Court for arraignment yesterday afternoon. He faces 38 counts in connection to the death of Wayne County Deputy Sean Riley in December: 36 counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Tate pleaded not guilty to all counts, and a pre-trial conference in the case was set for March 15th at 2 p.m. at the Wayne County Courthouse. Governor J.B. Pritzker says Illinois is on track to lift the state's indoor mask mandate on February 28th. No masks will be needed in bars, restaurants, and grocery stores at that time thanks to a rapid decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations. He says the state will seek to keep the mandate in place for Illinois schools. Any federal or local mask mandates will continue to apply, so they will still be required in places like mass transit, healthcare settings, long-term care facilities, prisons, and daycares. The
Frontier Community College has announced its academic honor recipients for the Fall 2021 Semester. 76 students were named to the CEO/ Chancellor's List, requiring at least a 3.9 GPA. 42 students were named to the President's List with a GPA or 3.75 to 3.89, and 27 were named to the Dean's List for having a GPA between 3.5 and 3.74. A full list of honor recipients can be found in the following attachment: Honors-List-Fall-2021 49-year-old Rockford resident Eddie W. Thomasson was sentenced in Wayne County Circuit Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty to a Class 3 felony count of forgery and was sentenced to one year conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay $1,018 in fines and court costs. 20-year-old Woodlawn resident Jonathan M. Richardson pleaded guilty in October to a Class 2 felony count of burglary. He was sentenced yesterday to two years probation. A separate case was dismissed, and he was ordered to pay $1,863.75 in fines, court costs, and restitution. Fairfie