JACKSON COUNTY, IL — The following cases were heard in Jackson County Court.
An Elkville man was recently sentenced in Jackson County Court for making bomb threats.
According to Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael C. Carr, 37-year-old Justin R. Bagley entered pleas guilty to 12 counts of disorderly conduct (bomb threat) – all Class 3 felonies and was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by one year of mandatory supervised release and will have to pay a $3,000 statutorily mandated fine.
On Feb. 9 of this year, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by officials with the Taber Police Service in Alberta, Canada, advising that businesses and schools in Taber had received several bomb threats within the preceding 48 hours. The threats were made by phone between Feb. 7 and Feb. 9 to a department store, a bank, a health center, schools, and the police department in Taber. All of the calls were traced to Bagley in Elkville.
Working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois, the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s office learned that Bagley also called the World Trade Center in New York City and made a bomb threat on Jan. 25 of this year.
The investigation of Bagley’s case was conducted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant State’s Attorney Jayson Clark was responsible for the successful prosecution of Bagley.
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A Carbondale man was recently sentenced in Jackson County Court for possessing methamphetamine.
Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr says 39-year-old Jason J. Seaton will spend two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by one year of mandatory supervised release after having been found in violation of conditions of his probation in a case involving a methamphetamine possession charge – a Class 3 felony.
On Feb. 3 of this year, officers from the Carbondale Police Department were dispatched to a home in Carbondale in response to a report of a fight between Seaton and another man. Police searched for and eventually arrested Seaton that same night after witnesses identified him as the initial aggressor who started the fight. After placing Seaton under arrest, officers found approximately 1.4 grams of methamphetamine in Seaton’s possession.
Seaton entered a plea of guilty to a charge of methamphetamine possession and was placed on probation for that offense on April 22 of this year. His probation was revoked, and Seaton was sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections due to his failure to comply with several conditions of the probation order entered in the case.
The investigation of Seaton’s case was conducted by the Carbondale Police Department. Assistant State’s Attorneys Jayson Clark and Rebecca Blomer were responsible for the successful prosecution of Seaton.
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A Gorham man was recently sentenced in Jackson County Court for robbery.
Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr says 27-year-old Matthew D. Harris pled guilty for robbery and was sentenced to 8.5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by a 3 year period of mandatory supervised release.
Carr says the robbery offense is a Class 2 felony, however, due to Harris’ criminal history; the sentencing range for the felony was enhanced to that of a Class X offense. A Class X felony has a sentencing range from 6 to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
In the early morning hours of April 11 of this year, Harris, together with another, physically attacked an individual in the 600 block of South Illinois Avenue in Carbondale.
During the attack, the two took the victim’s wallet, which was later recovered by the Carbondale Police Department. The victim sustained injuries to his face and was treated at the Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
The investigation was conducted by the Carbondale Police Department. Assistant State’s Attorney Rebecca L. Blomer was responsible for the prosecution of this case.
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A Carbondale man was recently sentenced in Jackson County Court for residential burglary.
Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr says 31-year-old Deshun R. Brooks entered a guilty plea to residential burglary – a Class 2 felony – and was sentenced to 7 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by a 2 year period of mandatory supervised release. He was order to pay restitution to the victim.
On Oct. 4 of this year, the Carbondale Police Department received a call from a Carbondale woman reporting that while she was out of town she checked her home security camera and saw a man who she did not recognize inside her home.
Police responded to the victim’s home and found that the intruder had forced his way inside the home and stolen property from inside the victim’s home. When officers viewed a copy of the video surveillance recording provided by the victim, they identified Brooks as the suspect. The Carbondale Police Department located and arrested Brooks within 24 hours of identifying him as the suspect.
The investigation of Brooks’ case was conducted by the Carbondale Police Department. Assistant State’s Attorney Jayson Clark was responsible for the successful prosecution of Brooks.
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A Murphysboro man was recently sentenced in Jackson County Court for forgery.
According to Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr, 46-year-old Donald Whittington, Jr. pled guilty for forgery – A Class 3 felony – and was sentenced to 2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by a 1 year period of mandatory supervised release.
On March 29 of this year, Whittington presented a check at Casey’s General Store in Murphysboro. The check was later learned to be fraudulent as the account holder had not authorized Whittington to write checks from the account.
The investigation was conducted by the Murphysboro Police Department. Assistant State’s Attorneys Jayson Clark and Rebecca Blomer were responsible for the prosecution of this case.