Man wanted for domestic battery arrested in Peru

Police say a man wanted for domestic battery led them on a short chase in Peru.

Patrick Thomas of Peru was arrested Tuesday after police say he wiped out on a motorbike while trying to get away.

Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says a La Salle County warrant for domestic battery was issued for Thomas last Thursday for something that happened in Peru.  At that time, bond on the warrant was set at $50,000 and a petition to revoke his felony probation was filed by states attorney’s office.

Bernabei says Thomas was spotted riding a motorbike by the Peru Mall Tuesday afternoon.  Bernabei says officers tried to stop him but he drove into a field north of Wenzel Road.

Officers from La Salle and Peru surrounded the area.  Bernabei says Thomas fell from the bike while leaving the field and re-entering the road.  He was arrested and taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital for minor injuries.  He’ll eventually be taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Bernabei says Thomas is a person of interest in two thefts in Peru and the motorbike he was riding was reported stolen out of Ottawa.

Clean Energy Grant funding IVCC wind test tower

Add Illinois Valley Community College to the list of schools considering wind energy.  The college is receiving a $30,000 grant for a wind feasibility study.  It’ll include a 150-foot test tower that will see if it’s worth putting up a turbine.

The grant is through the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation and will cover 75% of the cost.  The college will need to pick up the rest of the $40,000 project.

They want to put the test tower south of the college barns as part of phase one of the project.

If a wind turbine is feasible, a second phase will follow.

Boy Drowns In The Illinois River

The boy whose body was found this morning in the Illinois River has been identified.

The Grundy County Coroner says 13 year old James Woody of Morris was pulled from the river just before ten this morning near Stratton Park in Morris.  Investigators say Woody chased a ball into the river last night and was swept in by a high undercurrent.

The investigation continues.

Alleged Ottawa Doll Thief Arrested

Nearly a month after four dolls worth over 500 dollars were stolen from Mann Made in Ottawa, the alleged thief has been caught.

Jessica Roden of Compton was arrested on a warrant Friday for felony retail theft.  Ottawa detectives say after catching Roden and her car on surveillance, they paid her a visit.  Detectives say they found one of the four dolls in Roden’s house.  They found the other three the next day.

Roden is out of jail after posting a thousand dollars towards her bond.