Police bust three on drug, burglary charges
<span>A combined effort from three law enforcement agencies on March 4 resulted in the arrest of three members of the same family in Tilden and Steeleville.</span>
<span>According to a Tuesday news release from the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, 33-year-old Timothy L. Zacheis and his 32-year-old brother, Jason L. Zacheis, were arrested along with their 22-year-old cousin, Shelby R. Lopez, on drug and burglary charges.</span>
<span>Timothy Zacheis and Shelby Lopez reside at 642 Cherry St. in Tilden, while Jason Zacheis resides at 802 N. Townsend St. in Steeleville.</span>
<span>Timothy Zacheis has been charged with burglary and the unlawful production of cannabis sativa plants, while Jason Zacheis has been charged with theft.</span>
<span>Lopez has been charged with unlawful production of cannabis sativa plants.</span>
<span>"We take crimes against people and their property very seriously," said Randolph County Sheriff Shannon Wolff in an interview with the Herald Tribune. "We will do everything in our power to go after people who do this to citizens."</span>
<span>Both the Zacheises remained incarcerated at Randolph County Jail - with bond amounts of $75,000 for Timothy and $25,000 for Jason - on Tuesday, while Lopez posted bond and was released after having her initial amount set at $10,000.</span>
<span>"There are two things that go into the bond amounts," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "No. 1 is the severity of the charge and No. 2 is the criminal history."</span>
<span>Walker was asked if Timothy Zacheis had a prior criminal history that resulted in the higher bond amount.</span>
<span>"I would say this is definitely not his first rodeo," Walker said.</span>
<span>In the news release, Wolff said the simultaneous execution of search warrants in Tilden and Steeleville led to the arrests.</span>
<span>During the Tilden Police Department's search, the agency recovered items allegedly to be from burglaries that occurred along the Randolph/St. Clair County line, as well as a marijuana growth operation.</span>
<span>The Steeleville Police Department also recovered alleged stolen property from burglaries in that same general location.</span>
<span>Walker could not say whether all three suspects are part of the same marijuana growth operation.</span>
<span>The sheriff's office continues to investigate the case at this time. Walker said all three suspects are due in Randolph County Court on Monday at 9 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.</span>
<span>"We're getting to the point where we've got juries coming up, so we just get (the preliminary hearing) done as soon as we can," Walker said.</span>