CHESTER – Randolph County States Attorney Jeremy Walker has released more March 2022 Case Updates:
People v. Ronald A. Arpin, Jr. (2019-CF-128, 2020-CF-77, and 2021-CF-276)
On March 24, 2022, Ronald A. Arpin, Jr., 30 of Red Bud, pled guilty to the offense of Domestic Battery before the Honorable Judge Richard A. Brown. Pursuant to the negotiated plea, Mr. Arpin was sentenced to serve three (3) years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. During the plea, Mr. Arpin admitted to causing bodily harm to an ex-girlfriend in Red Bud on October 2, 2020, after having a previous conviction for domestic battery. A charge of Aggravated Domestic Battery (2021-CF-276) was dismissed and the Defendant’s probation in 2019-CF-128 was terminated unsuccessfully. “Ronald had a bad stretch over the last few years with ex-girlfriends. Ronald was on probation for a felony regarding a domestic situation in 2019 and committed this offense he pled to in 2020. While that was pending, and while we had an outstanding warrant for him, Ronald allegedly committed a new offense which compromised 2021-CF-276. All three cases had separate victims and the victim in the 2021 case was asking to drop the charges on Ronald. Based on all of his issues, I felt an IDOC sentence was warranted. However, I could not push too hard or I risked losing the cooperation of my witnesses. Ronald will have a chance to get things right and have a fresh start when he gets out of IDOC. I hope he makes the most of it,” commented Walker. The Red Bud Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Jeffrey R. Valleroy (2019-CF-61)
On March 25, 2022, Jeffrey R. Valleroy, 47 of Canton, pled guilty to the offense of Possession of Child Pornography before the Honorable Judge Gene Gross. Pursuant to the plea, Mr. Valleroy was sentenced to serve two (2) years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. During the plea, Mr. Valleroy admitted to possessing an image of a nude minor engaged in a simulated sexual act while in or near Sparta during the month of October, 2017. “This was a unique case and had issues for the State to meet our burden of proof. First, Mr. Valleroy was never found in possession of the device which had this image on it, but admitted to a Sparta Officer he had been in possession of it in 2017. Second, the image was not of a known person, so we had no proof of age or the identify of whom it was. Third, the image was possibly computer generated, which pursuant to a United States Supreme Court decision, could be protected free speech. Finally, there was no actual contact what so ever between Mr. Valleroy and this person in the photo. Mr. Valleroy photo shopped himself into the photo. Therefore, the Defendant had some defendable issues. However, Mr. Valleroy is carrying a prior sex related conviction, which made the stakes high for him. Taking into consideration all of these factors, I felt a lower IDOC sentence was the way to go, to ensure a conviction. Some may disagree, and I respect that. However, there was a real possibility of a not guilty on this one,” explained Walker. The Sparta Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Ronald F. Driscoll (2021-CF-255)
On March 25, 2022, Ronald F. Driscoll, 51 of Spragueville, IA, pled guilty to the offense of Resisting a Peace Officer (Misdemeanor) before Judge Gross. The Defendant was convicted of the offense and fined. During the plea, the Defendant admitted to resisting his arrest in Sparta on October 16, 2021. The State dismissed a felony count of Aggravated Battery to facilitate the plea. “Mr. Driscoll was guilty of being drunk and stupid. Mr. Driscoll was a guest at Holiday Inn Express in Sparta on October 16 and consumed too much alcohol. When asked to go to his room by the clerk at the hotel, he became combative and said derogatory things towards the clerk. The prompted a call to the police, whom tried to get him to go to bed. Mr. Driscoll chose to argue some more and was arrested. After his arrest, he became combative and said derogatory things towards the officers involved. To top it off, he claimed he was hurt during his arrest (which was not true) and had to go to the hospital, during which he made contact with a doctor in the ER, which led to the felony charge. Mr. Driscoll had no priors, no one was hurt and he faces professional discipline in Iowa, where he is a registered nurse to my understanding. Based on this, Mr. Driscoll could have been convicted of misdemeanor stupidity, but we don’t have that law. Therefore, I chose a resisting charge and convicted him for the Iowa authorities to take action on his license,” commented Walker. The Sparta Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Lisa A. Boitano (2022-CF-8)
On March 28, 2022, Lisa A. Boitano, 35 of Chester, pled guilty to the offense of Possession of Methamphetamine before Judge Brown. Pursuant to the plea, Ms. Boitano was sentenced to probation. During the plea, Ms. Boitano admitted to possessing less than five (5) grams of methamphetamine located during a traffic stop in Steeleville on January 11, 2022. “Ms. Boitano had a prior felony several years ago in the State of Washington, which made her ineligible for first offender probation. However, it was years ago and an IDOC sentence did not seem appropriate given the nature of the charge. We will give Lisa a chance to get clean, but I would not violate her probation, if I were her,” cautioned Walker. The Steeleville Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Wilson E Carillo-Escalante (2021-CF-260)
On March 28, 2022, Wilson E. Carillo-Escalante, 23 of Chester, pled guilty to the offense of Aggravated Battery before Judge Brown. Pursuant to the plea, Mr. Carillo-Escalante was sentenced to conditional discharge. During the plea, Mr. Carillo-Escalante admitted to throwing a chair and striking another person at a restaurant in Chester on November 24, 2021. “Mr. Carillo-Escalante is not a legal citizen in the United States and this felony will cause him to be deported. Mr. Carillo-Escalante also had a DUI pending, which I dismissed as a felony conviction will cause him to be removed from the country and that seemed enough punishment. No one was injured in the incident and the fact it occurred in a public place is what made this a felony, not the degree of harm caused,” offered Walker. The Chester Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Luis Rivera-Cobo (2021-CF-274)
On March 28, 2022, Luis Rivera-Cobo, 28 of Percy, pled guilty to the offenses of Resisting a Peace Officer (Misdemeanor) and DUI before Judge Brown. Pursuant to the plea, Mr. Rivera-Cobo was placed on conditional discharge. Duirng the plea, Mr. Rivera-Cobo admitted to driving an automobile while under the influence of alcohol in Percy on December 22, 2021 and resisting his arrest. The resisting charge was amended from a felony to facilitate the plea. “I spoke with the officer involved and he agreed a felony was not warranted. While there was no question Mr. Rivera-Cobo was not cooperative, the officer was not injured and did not want to see a felony imposed on him. Therefore, we convicted him of DUI, which will revoke his privileges to operate a motor vehicle and convicted him of a misdemeanor resisting charge, which will not require his deportation as a felony would have,” commented Walker. The Steeleville Police Department and Randolph County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Weston R. Baird (2021-CF-228)
On March 31, 2022, Weston R. Baird, 24 of Marissa, was sentenced to serve 26 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, to be served at 85%, following a sentencing hearing before Judge Brown. Mr. Baird was facing sentencing for the offense of Home Invasion occurring in rural Baldwin on September 30, 2021. Duirng the sentencing hearing the State requested a term of 45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, while the Defendant requested a term of 10 years in the Department of Corrections. “This was a very serious case as the Defendant attacked a man in his residence in broad daylight. It was also a violent attack, which included the victim being shot with an air powered rifle, stabbed with a hatchet and having mace deployed on him. Luckily, the victim was able to fight off the Defendant, whom was captured on the property shortly after police arrived. This type of behavior simply cannot be tolerated in our community and those whom are convicted must be incarcerated a long time to both deter others and protect society from them. I was realistically expecting a sentence at or near 30 years, so we were not too far from that figure and the sentence imposed will ensure Mr. Baird will remain incarcerated until his is 45/46 year of age. Maybe this will teach him a lesson. If not, while he will not be an old man when he gets out, he will not be a young man either. Sitting in prison for 21 plus years will not age him very well. Twenty-one years in an oak barrel in Kentucky will make a good bourbon, while twenty-one years in a prison cell will not age Weston very well,” offered Walker. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Paige R. Davis (2020-CF-276)
On April 1, 2022, Paige R. Davis, 42 of Lebanon, was sentenced to serve ten (10) years in the Illinois Department of Corrections following a brief sentencing hearing before Judge Brown. During the sentencing hearing, both the Defendant and the State agreed to the ten (10) year term, to be served at 85%. Mr. David was facing sentencing for an Aggravated Battery charge occurring in Sparta on October 18, 2020. “We had this agreement in place for several months, but Paige needed to resolve some issues with a federal prosecution he caught after this charge. Mr. Davis is now in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and had agreed to this disposition before he left to do his federal time. My victim in our case was happy with the 10-year sentence and was not pushing for any additional time. Between the feds and this sentence, Mr. Davis will be locked up for 8.5 years, which is good outcome,” offered Walker. The Sparta Police Department handled the investigation in this matter.
People v. Robert St. Pierre (2021-CF- 272)
On April 6, 2022, Robert St. Pierre, 31 of Tilden, pled guilty to the offense of Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child before the Honorable Judge Chris Hitzemann. Pursuant to the plea, Mr. St. Pierre was sentenced to serve eight (8) years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Duirng the plea, Mr. St. Pierre admitted to having sex with a female child under 13 years of age in or near Tilden on October 12, 2021. “The victim’s mother was on board with the resolution and wanted to make sure Mr. St. Pierre will have to register as a sex offender for life, which he will. The mother also wanted to see Mr. St. Pierre go to prison, which he is. The mother also specifically authorized and consented to the 8-year sentence, as she did not want to have to make her daughter testify during a trial. I have explained before the dance we undertake to maximize a sentence, but also protect a victim. I feel we did both in this case, and if the mother is happy, I am happy,” concluded Walker. The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office handled the investigation in this matter.