Updates from Randolph County court
Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker reveals the latest updates from county court through mid-October.
<h3 class="breakHead">• John N. Canepa</h3>
On October 5, 30-year-old John N. Canepa, of Baldwin, pleaded guilty to the offense of aggravated battery before Judge Richard A. Brown.
Pursuant to the terms of the negotiated plea, Canepa was placed on probation for a period of two years, with conditions to seek substance abuse and mental health counseling, no contact with the victim and to cooperate with the Department of Children and Family services regarding a pending juvenile matter.
During the plea, Canepa admitted to causing bruising to a minor child, whom was 7 years old at the time, in Chester during the month of January 2017.
"Mr. Canepa was the boyfriend of the mother of the victim," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "The victim had presented with bruising to a local elementary school and relayed he had been punished by Mr. Canepa.
"Mr. Canepa admitted it happened, but considered it corporal punishment. Luckily, the minor did not experience significant injury, but it was not a case where we could just look the other way."
Walker noted the plea will keep Canepa away from the victim for two years, or until such time DCFS believes the child is safe being around him.
"DCFS is still involved with the family," Walker said. "We are hopeful this resolution will resolve the issues which led Mr. Canepa to feel it was appropriate to punish a child the way he did.
"Mr. Canepa had a prior felony from 2007, but due to the lack of severity of injury and age of the prior felony, I did not view this as a case the court would have sent Mr. Canepa to corrections."
The Chester Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
<h3 class="breakHead">• Tony Harden</h3>
On October 5, 46-year-old Tony Harden, of Sparta, pleaded guilty to the offense of aggravated battery before Judge Richard A. Brown.
Pursuant to the negotiated plea, Harden was sentenced to 60 days in jail and one year of conditional discharge.
During the plea, Harden admitted to shoving a Sparta police officer on August 25.
"Mr. Harden's friend was being arrested and, for whatever reason, Mr. Harden decided to push and shove a Sparta officer during that process," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Luckily the officer was not injured in the scuffle."
The Sparta Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
• Tristen J. Junger
On October 6, 20-year-old Tristen J, Junger, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of a controlled substance before Judge Richard A. Brown.
Pursuant to the plea, Junger was sentenced to first offender probation for a period of two years with a condition to seek substance abuse counseling.
During the plea, Junger admitted to possessing less than 15 grams of MDMA (ecstasy) located during a traffic stop by a Randolph County Sheriff's deputy on June 10.
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.
• Martinez C. Hollingsworth
On October 6, 34-year-old Martinez C. Hollingsworth, of Steeleville, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of weapon by felon before Judge Richard A. Brown.
Pursuant to the plea, Hollingsworth was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
During the plea, Hollingsworth admitted to possessing a knife (three inches or longer), with the intent to use the same, in Steeleville on Aug. 27 after previously been convicted of a felony.
"Mr. Hollingsworth pulled the knife out of his pocket while involved in a scuffle in Steeleville on August 27," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "If you have been convicted of a felony, you cannot have a fixed blade knife longer than three inches, if you are planning on using the knife.
"When you pull it out during a fight, the intent seems to be there. We take the felon in possession of weapons cases seriously and hope this trip to corrections will be useful and impactful for the defendant."
The Steeleville Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
• Maurice M. Hollingsworth
On October 6, 35-year-old Maurice M. Hollingsworth, of Steeleville, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon before Judge Richard A. Brown.
Pursuant to the plea, Hollingsworth was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
During the plea, Hollingsworth admitted to possessing a gun, after having previously been convicted of a felony, while in Steeleville on August 27. His case stems from the same bar incident involving his brother, Martinez Hollingsworth.
"Mr. Hollingsworth left the bar after his brother was involved in the incident," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Mr. Maurice Hollingsworth attempted to discard a gun he had with him before he came into contact with the police regarding his brother's actions.
"The police located the weapon and this seemed an appropriate disposition to send these brothers to prison for their actions."
The Steeleville Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
• Gregory S. Partin
On October 12, 37-year-old Gregory S. Partin, of Chester, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of methamphetamine before Judge Richard A. Brown.
No agreement was reached as to the sentence, and a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November 6.
During the plea, Partin admitted to possessing less than 5 grams of methamphetamine in Chester on May 19 located when a sheriff's deputy made a welfare check on the defendant.
"Mr. Partin is currently on probation for a meth related offense, and will have to go to corrections," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "The sentencing hearing will determine how long as we were not able to agree upon a number during the plea negotiation process."
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.
• David W.M. Downey
On October 13, 29-year-old David W.M. Downey, of Sparta, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of methamphetamine before Judge Richard A. Brown.
No agreement was reached as to the sentence and this matter has been set for a sentencing hearing on November 27.
During the plea, Downey admitted to possessing less than 5 grams of meth located during the execution of a search warrant in rural Chester on February 23.
"Mr. Downey is on probation for a Class 2 felony offense, and carries two prior felony convictions from Randolph County," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Therefore, we did not feel probation was an adequate punishment and will be advocating for a prison sentence at the sentencing hearing."
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.
• Tory Rea
On October 13, 42-year-old Tory L. Rea, of Belleville, pleaded guilty to the offense of driving while license revoked before Judge Richard A. Brown.
Pursuant to the plea, Rea was sentenced to 30 days in the Randolph County Jail and placed on conditional discharge for a period of one year.
During the plea, Rea admitted to driving his motor vehicle near Evansville on August 7, 2016 at a time his license was revoked due to a DUI conviction, and after having previously been convicted of the same offense.
The Illinois State Police handled the investigation in this matter.
• Steven M. Taylor
On October 13, 36-year-old Steven M. Taylor, of Elkville, pleaded guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of methamphetamine before Judge Gene Gross.
Pursuant to the negotiated plea, Taylor was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
During the plea, Taylor admitted to possessing less than 5 grams of methamphetamine located during a traffic stop in Sparta on September 22, 2016.
"Mr. Taylor had several prior felony convictions and a sentence to corrections in 2007," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "For that reason, we did not feel probation was appropriate and wanted not only a prison sentence, but a longer sentence than Mr. Taylor served in 2007."
The Sparta Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
• John M. Rendelman
On October 16, 56-year-old John M. Rendelman, of Waterloo, was found guilty of the offense of unlawful possession of a controlled substance before Judge Gene Gross following a brief bench trial.
During the trial, the State presented evidence Rendelman was in possession of less than 15 grams of hydrocodone located on him following a traffic stop in Red Bud on February 13.
Rendelman, who had no prior offenses, was found not guilty of a misdemeanor offense of unlawful use of weapons arising from the same set of facts.
Following the trial, that parties agreed to a disposition of first offender probation, with conditions to seek substance abuse counseling for a period of two years, and the forfeiture of a pistol located in Rendleman's possession to be forfeited to the Red Bud Police Department.
"We did not disagree on the facts, it was just a disagreement if the defendant was guilty or not," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Therefore, we stipulated to the facts and Mr. Rendelman was indeed found guilty.
"We chose not to present any evidence on the misdemeanor gun charge, which centered around Mr. Rendelman having a loaded pistol, but did not have a conceal carry permit."
The Red Bud Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
• Vernon A. Davis
On October 16, 30-year-old Vernon A. Davis, of Oakdale, pleaded guilty to reduced charge of battery (Class A misdemeanor) before Judge Gene Gross and was fined $500.
During the plea, David admitted to cutting a fellow bar patron outside of the Coulterville VFW on February 22.
"These two were in a fight, but at the conclusion of the altercation, Mr. Davis cut the victim in the face," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Up to that point, it was arguably a self-defense situation.
"For those reasons, we reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor."
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.</group><group id="0DE90084-785B-4109-B932-CE2DB058440D" type="seoLabels"><seoLabe