A Hunnewell, Missouri man has been sentenced in Brown County, Illinois, following his arrest in Mt. Sterling after a violent confrontation with law enforcement in the summer of 2024.

According to Brown County Circuit Court records, Ryan M. Edlin, 42, appeared in court on Thursday and entered a guilty plea to Class A misdemeanor resisting a peace officer. Under the terms of an open plea agreement, more serious charges were dismissed, including Class 2 felony aggravated battery to a peace officer, Class 2 felony attempting to disarm a police officer, and Class 4 felony resisting a peace officer.

The court sentenced Edlin to 364 days in county jail, to be served at the Menard County Jail in Petersburg. He received credit for 100 days already served and was also ordered to pay fines and court costs.

Edlin was arrested at the home of his parents on East Street in Mt. Sterling on June 24, 2024 during the execution of a Missouri felony arrest warrant for money laundering, theft, forgery and deceptive business practices. According to a report from Muddy River News at the time, Edlin and other family members were being investigated for several months after a criminal complaint was filed by a local hog market in Monroe County, Missouri for allegedly embezzling more than $3.5 million. Officers reported at the time of the execution of the warrant, Edlin was reported to have ran into the residence on East Street and fought with officers that resulted in officers getting injured.

Missouri court records show that Edlin was sentenced on September 4, 2025 to 5 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for the charges contained in the warrant. A related civil judgment also ordered him to repay more than $164,000.

The Illinois State Police are honoring one of their four-legged officers with a retirement celebration.

Today, ISP honored and celebrated the outstanding service of Canine Luna, who has not only been a loyal partner to Sergeant Clint Nickel but has also served the Illinois State Police, Troop 6, Central HIT, and her community with unparalleled courage and dedication.

For 8 years, Luna has been on the front lines, tirelessly working alongside State Troopers. “Whether it was sniffing out drugs, searching for missing persons, apprehending suspects, Luna has always answered the call. There’s no task too big, no challenge too great for this canine,” a press release said. Sgt. Nickel was originally stationed in the former District 20 office in Pittsfield prior to district consolidations a few years ago.

Canine Luna’s career highlights include assisting in the seizure of approximately 2,570 pounds of cannabis, 134 kilos of cocaine, 7 kilos of methamphetamine, 27 criminal apprehensions 43 illegal firearms and just under $2.5 million in illicit U.S. Currency.

A Cass County man has been arrested on multiple felony charges of having sex with a minor.

Arturo Santamaria, 27, of Ashland is charged with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a female minor, a Class 2 felony.

Charging documents allege the incidents occurred on four separate occasions between July 19, 2024 and August of 2024.

Santamaria was arrested January 27 and remains held at the Menard County Jail. He made his first court appearance January 29, when a judge ordered him detained, citing him as a potential public safety risk, and also ordered a mental health evaluation.

Santamaria has been appointed a public defender and is scheduled to return to Cass County court February 19.

A Tennessee fugitive arrested in Cass County on December 30 has now been sentenced on Illinois drug charges.

Caleb M. Patterson, 21, of of Lewisburg, Tennessee, pleaded guilty Monday in Cass County Court to a Class 2 felony charge of possession of methamphetamine between 5-15 grams.

As part of the plea agreement, all remaining Illinois charges against Patterson were dismissed, including possession of a firearm by a felon, intent to deliver methamphetamine, unlawful use of a weapon, obstruction of justice and obstructing identification.

Judge Timothy J. Wessel sentenced Patterson to 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by 1 year of mandatory supervised release. He was also fined $200 and received credit for 34 days already served in the Schuyler County Jail.

Patterson was arrested December 30, 2025 near Beardstown by Cass County Sheriff’s deputies. At the time, he was also wanted on a fugitive-from-justice warrant out of Marshall County, Tennessee, in connection with an armed robbery reported the night before at a fireworks stand in a Walmart parking lot in Lewisburg.

Illinois prosecutors had previously filed extradition paperwork related to the Tennessee case. No further information has been released regarding Patterson’s status or potential proceedings in Tennessee.

Patterson remains in custody pending transfer to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

A West Central Illinois man who has been on the lam from several court cases was sentenced to state prison last week in Pike County Circuit Court.
40-year-old Jonathan Well formerly of Jacksonville, was sentenced Tuesday in Pike County by Judge Frank McCartney to 2 1/2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections following a string of felony convictions and repeated failed court appearances.
Well’s legal troubles date back to a Pike County Sheriff’s traffic stop in May of 2023, near Pearl. Deputies arrested Well after discovering he was wanted on warrants in Scott, Morgan, and Montgomery counties. He was also charged with driving on a revoked license, unlawful possession of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, and multiple traffic offenses.

A subsequent search warrant executed at a residence along Illinois Route 100 in Pearl yielded the seizure of several firearms, including stolen weapons, ammunition, and meth.

Wells pleaded guilty in Pike County on October of last year to felony drug possession and felony driving on a revoked license for at least the fourth time and then failed to appear for sentencing. He was later re-arrested on a failure-to-appear warrant in Greene County in November.

Meanwhile, Well continues to face unresolved cases across the region. Major traffic and misdemeanor cases remain outstanding in Morgan County, Greene, Scott and Montgomery counties

Well has been held at the Greene County Jail since his arrest in November.

Illinois families who rely on child care and social services could soon face serious disruptions after the Trump administration announced a freeze on billions of dollars in federal funding on Tuesday.

Federal officials confirmed late Tuesday a pause on funding tied to three major programs: the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Social Services Block Grant. Together, those programs help pay for child care, family supports, and services for seniors, people with disabilities, and families facing poverty. Illinois was among five states facing $10 billion in cuts – the cuts to Illinois funding alone was estimated at $1 billion.

According to July 2025 statistics, Morgan County currently has 77 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cases that serve approximately 192 people. Surrounding counties’ TANF numbers were not readily available online at the time of this report.

The Illinois Child Care Assistance Program—known as CCAP—currently helps around 100,000 working families, supporting care for more than 150,000 children statewide. The program allows parents to go to work, attend school, or complete job training while ensuring their children have affordable child care. Advocates warn that even a short-term freeze could force child care centers to delay payments, reduce hours, or close.

Beyond child care, the Social Services Block Grant supports more than 275 organizations across Illinois, funding programs that help prevent child abuse, assist seniors, support people with disabilities, and address food insecurity. Those services touch nearly every community in the state, including some programs administered locally through MCS Community Services in Jacksonville among others.

The Trump administration says the funding pause is tied to concerns about fraud and oversight, citing past cases in other states, including the most recent concerns coming from the State of Minnesota. Illinois officials say they have not been provided with specific evidence of wrongdoing and note that existing audit and anti-fraud systems are already in place.

State agencies say they are awaiting formal notice from federal officials and are assessing next steps. In the meantime, child care providers and social service organizations across Illinois are bracing for uncertainty.

For now, families are being told to stay enrolled in programs—but advocates warn the longer the freeze lasts, the harder it will be to protect the networks supported by the funding.