PAXTON — The Paxton Police Department released the following list of recent activity:
— Nicole J. Hardyman, 43, of Paxton, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and ticketed for illegal transportation of adult-use cannabis in a motor vehicle, illegal transportation of alcohol, operating a vehicle with suspended registration and operating an uninsured vehicle during a traffic stop at 8:10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20, in the 300 block of East Center Street. The traffic stop was conducted after Paxton police saw Hardyman driving a 2011 Mazda with suspended registration. During the traffic stop, police found an open 12-ounce can of Busch Light beer and 1.9 grams of cannabis. After being arrested and taken to the Ford County Jail, Hardyman submitted to a breath test that revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.106 — above the legal limit of 0.08 — at 9:15 p.m., more than an hour after police pulled over her vehicle, which was seized by police under city ordinance.
— Andrew N. Washington, 27, of Rantoul, was arrested for driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license and ticketed for operating a vehicle with suspended registration and illegal transportation of adult-use cannabis in a motor vehicle during a traffic stop at 4:40 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20, in the parking lot of the Casey’s store at 585 S. Market St. just south of downtown Paxton. The traffic stop was conducted after police saw Washington driving a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer with suspended registration. During the traffic stop, police noticed an odor of cannabis coming from Washington’s vehicle. A subsequent search revealed the presence of 20.7 grams of cannabis in the vehicle, which was seized by police under city ordinance.
— A hit-and-run incident was reported in the parking lot of Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18, when Ashley Hernandez of Roberts reported that her 2021 Chevrolet Malibu was struck by an unknown vehicle while parked there unoccupied.
— Tony J. Johnson, 39, of Loda, was arrested for driving with a revoked driver’s license and ticketed for operating a vehicle with suspended registration and operating an uninsured vehicle during a traffic stop at 5:47 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18, near the intersection of Spruce and Vermilion streets on Paxton’s east side. The traffic stop was conducted after police saw Johnson driving a 2005 Ford 500 with suspended registration. During the traffic stop, police confirmed that his driver’s license was revoked. The car was seized by police under city ordinance.
— John C. Lenoir, 57, of Urbana, was arrested for forgery, burglary, conspiracy and possession with intent to deliver heroin at 8:55 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at The Frederick Community Bank at 106 N. Market St. in downtown Paxton. Lenoir allegedly passed forged checks at the bank on a couple of occasions prior to returning to the bank that morning to do the same. Inside his vehicle — a 2012 Hyundai Elantra — police found 41 individually wrapped packages of heroin totaling a combined 10.5 grams. The vehicle was seized by police under city ordinance and Article 36 of the Illinois Criminal Code. Lenoir allegedly worked with two others — for whom arrest warrants have been issued — in a check-fraud scheme that has totaled seven incidents in Paxton alone.
— Weston T. Harms, 26, of Cissna Park, was arrested Friday, Aug. 18, for aggravated fleeing and eluding police and ticketed for reckless driving, two counts of speeding and four counts of disobeying a stop sign. Harms turned himself in at the Paxton Police Department on Aug. 18 after the alleged incidents that led to the charges occurred the day prior. Around 12:28 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, Paxton police tried to pull over a Harley-Davidson motorcycle being driven by Harms, who was allegedly seen going 65 mph in a 45-mph speed zone. Harms allegedly failed to stop and increased his speed, at one point reaching speeds in excess of 35 mph above the speed limit (71 mph in a 35-mph zone). Harms also allegedly disregarded at least four stop signs. While Harms initially was able to get away, the police department’s newly installed Flock Safety automated license-plate reading cameras captured images of the registration plates of his 2002 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883, allowing police to identify him as the driver.
— Nicholle D. Davis, 41, of Urbana, was ticketed for driving with a revoked driver’s license during a traffic stop on Tuesday, Aug. 15, in the 400 block of East Chestnut Street. The traffic stop was conducted after police received a report of a vehicle driving erratically and then located a 2011 Hyundai being driven by Davis near the intersection of Chestnut and Vermilion streets. After the vehicle stopped and Davis exited, police determined that her driver’s license was revoked and issued her a ticket. The vehicle was seized by police under city ordinance.
