Adams County Victim Dies, Yohn Possibly Faces More Charges

By Benjamin Cox on December 15, 2021 at 10:13am

The trial for the man accused of carjacking, home invasion and sexual assault of a 70-year-old Adams County woman has been pushed back a month after the alleged victim died in recent days.

WGEM reports that Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Joshua Jones made the motion asking the court to push the court date back for more time to investigate the matter of 34 year old Bradley Yohn of Springfield.

Yohn faces two counts of home invasion, one count of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, all Class X felonies, and residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. Those charges are in connection with a Nov. 9 incident that allegedly began along the North Bottom Road. The victim’s car was later found near a residence in Springfield where Yohn was apprehended.

He also faces felony charges in two other cases. He was charged with vehicular hijacking, a Class 1 felony, stemming from an Oct. 31 incident, and he faces charges of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony; two counts of theft or unauthorized control of property over $500 but under $10,000, Class 3 felonies; and criminal sexual abuse, a Class 4 felony. Those charges stem from an Oct. 14 incident.

The other defendant in the Nov. 9th case, Karen Blackledge, appears in court tomorrow morning.

The Adams County States Attorney’s Office has not indicated whether more charges will be filed in the case.

The Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office has yet to file any charges in the death of 30 year old Derek J. Banker Barnett of Virden. Yohn and Blackledge were apprehended by U.S. Marshals at a residence in Springfield, and Banker Barnett’s body was located in a nearby alleyway dead in a car from a gunshot wound. Both Yohn and Blackledge were compelled by the Adams County Circuit Court to submit to DNA swabs earlier this month.