From the Journal Star:

Freddie J. Mock, 53, told county deputies that a woman had told him her dog had become aggressive and that she wanted Mock to kill it. Mock said he drove to the woman’s house and placed the dog in his car, court records state.

And where did this take place? None other than Goofy Ridge.

Via the Peoria Journal Star, a loving mother provides her offspring with some home schooling:

Police arrested Victoria L. Powers, 25, of 312 W. Nebraska Ave. for allegedly breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s home at 1116 N. Frink St. A witness reportedly saw her, along with her 7-year-old and 5-year-old girls, break out a window in the home. She then allegedly stole checks, keys and other items from a room the victim used for his business, the Complete Cleaning Service.

Kudos to Phil Luciano of the Peoria Journal for his two excellent pieces on the murder of the Shelton brothers, whose gang terrorized central and southern Illinois decades ago. These murders happened more than a half-century earlier.

It was an interesting story, based on an interview with someone who was there, backed up with details from two books about the brother’s notorious.

After five decades, the Sheltons are considered a colorful part of Peoria’s colorful past. But at the time, their were vicious thugs, little different than the gang bangers who toss bullets around today.

One recent victim of this sort of behavior is a man named Brian Alexander. His murder remains unsolved. Alexander, a nurse at one of Peoria’s hospitals, was gunned down in the driveway of his East Bluff home. His family is heartsick over his loss and want to see justice done.

Fifty years ago, no one is going to be writing books about Brian Alexander. No one is going to try to solve his murder 50 years from now.

What the family desperately needs is for that ONE person who knows something to be brave enough to make the call to the police.

Gee, I wonder which one of these two thugs who broke into the offices at Springdale Cemetery is the more experienced felon.

A security camera recorded footage of the break-in, and showed a shirtless white man, possibly in his teens, break a window and enter as a second man stood outside as a lookout. He wore a dark hooded jacket.

Methinks it’s the guy who WASN’T caught on camera and ISN’T the one plucking glass shards out of his torso.

Note from the Peoria County Sheriff’s Department to the people who were hoping to get some of their money back from that would-be restaurant owner who wrote $35,000 in bad checks: Oops.

A Peoria County judge set a $50,000 bond for Akula on Wednesday, meaning he had to pay 10 percent, or $5,000, to be released from jail. He also was ordered to turn over his passport to authorities.However, Akula paid his bail and was released Wednesday night before he turned in his passport, Peoria Heights police Detective Chris Ahart said Friday. He quickly booked a flight and fled Thursday to Bombay, India, out of O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Ahart said.

The explanation?

Peoria County Sheriff’s Department officials were unavailable Saturday to comment on why Akula was allowed to leave the jail without surrendering his passport as ordered.

Oh. OK.

Note that he had $5,000 on hand, but had to pass bad paper all over town.

Can someone help me find my miniature violin, cause I want to play this guy a tune:

A pair of former South Peoria renters are suspected of moving out early and taking the front door, a wooden shed and the front yard’s chain link fence with them.

How did this dastardly thing happen?

[The landlord, who lived in Metamora] told police he had not expected the renters to move out. He had last checked on the property June 10.

Go figure.

Not knocking ALL landlords. There are landlords who make sure their property is well maintained and not a blight on the community. Then there are out-of-towners who don’t check their property for a month and a half, and then bitch when things go south.

Obviously, this dumbass criminal has never seen an episode of “CSI.”

When an East Bluff resident came home to find her front door kicked in, she thought she had been robbed. But nothing was missing. Instead:

The woman then found two used condoms on the foot of her bed in the master bedroom and another on the floor. She also found a baseball cap on the porch, according to reports. They had not been there when she left for work the night before, she told police. Estimated damage to the door was $500.

Quick! Someone notify Gus Grissom. No doubt he would have the DNA sample identified and the bad guy in jail by the end of the day.

I am reminded of the guy who was breaking into cars in Morton so he could masturbate onto the leather seats. This was at least two decades ago.

Angie wonders why the members of the Peoria Police Department drove by an amateur fireworks display being put on by folks who live behind a gasoline station.

That’s the implication in this article, the first of two written by Journal Star columnist Phil Luciano based on an interview with former ne’r-do-well Pecker Smith.

Lexington Hills apartments continues to be the place to be for all sorts of entertainment, including what the victim says is a playful slap fight that turned violent:

The man punched her, and a woman came from behind and pulled her to the ground by her hair. About five other people in their early 20s reportedly then kicked, punched and bit the woman while she was on the ground. When she was able to get up, she yelled at the mob of people.

A man, not the one who originally slapped her, pulled up his shirt and revealed a black handgun, according to police reports. He asked her if she was done yelling. If not, she “could have some of this,” he told her, pointing to the gun.

The article says that the woman had scratches and cuts, and a bite mark on her “chest,” which may or may not really mean “breast.”