Belleville News-Democrat

Teryun Jackson Skips Step Two, Flushes Ear Down Toilet After Biting It Off

Teryun Jackson, 22, and Marlon K. Jackson, 23, are already in the St. Clair County Jail for unlawful use of a weapon and first-degree murder, respectively. They're both facing additional charges of aggravated battery and mob action for attacking another inmate on May 11. You might want to put o ... More >>

Joseph Millard Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

Belleville man Joseph Millard, 49, was arrested Wednesday on multiple charges of downloading and distributing child pornography. He's being held on a $500,000 bond, and faces six to thirty years per charge in prison if found guilty.Those are big numbers, but check this out.

Seven Flyers Make Belleville News-Democrat All-Area First Team

Jennifer SilverbergLamontiez Ivy was named all-area first-team quarteback. Jeremy Nicholson was named first-team punter and honorable mention running back and kicker.​Today, the Belleville News-Democrat released their all-area football teams. The East St. Louis Senior High Flyers, whom we covered ... More >>

Windfall for Fairmount Park; Weathered Horse Track To Get Estimated $14 Million

Last time we ventured to Fairmount Park in '09, the JumboTron was in much need of repair.​The long legal battle between Illinois horse tracks and casinos is over. After losing an appeal and failing to get a hearing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Illinois casinos said goodbye this week to $141 ... More >>

Vigilante Savagery: Woman Beat With Baseball Bat by Relative of Hit-and-Run Victim

Belleville News-Democrat​File this one in the most-disturbing-stories-of-the-week category. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that a woman -- who is currently a suspect in a hit-and-run case -- recently left jail and was promptly beaten with a baseball bat by the mother of a victim of the ... More >>

Vandals Destroy Archaeological Dig at Southern Illinois - Edwardsville

SIUE - Archaeology Field SchoolMembers of the school dig along the site in 2010.​Excavating equipment and historical artifacts are missing after vandals looted and destroyed an archaeological dig on the campus of Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville over the weekend. As the Belleville News- ... More >>

Belleville Diocese Must Pay, Illinois Supreme Court Says

The diocese is on the hook for another $6.35 million after the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear its appeal.​The Illinois Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal of the Diocese of Belleville -- letting stand a $5 million jury verdict for a former altar boy at St. Theresa's Parish in ... More >>

Belleville to Bust Parents for Teens' Misdeeds

It's not our darling angels' faults when they break the law -- it's their parents!​Bad news for parents out in St. Clair County: Prosecutors are warning that if your kid acts up, you could face criminal charges.That's the word from the Belleville News-Democrat, which reports this morning that St. ... More >>

Sheriff's Department Invites Media Along for Sweep of Crime-Ridden Neighborhood

The press got to play cops last night in St. Clair County.​I've got to admit it. I enjoy the bravado of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, even as I occasionally question its chummy relationship with the press. Every other month, it seems, the sheriff's department emails local media with s ... More >>

70-Year-Old Woman Gives Burglar a Beat-Down

Image viaBring it, punks.​Step to grandma, scoundrels and thieves, and she will Eff. You. Up. As told today by the Belleville News-Democrat: A  couple of old ladies returned home in Fairview Heights when they realized there was a burglary in progress. One took out her cell phone and called 91 ... More >>

East St. Louis Loses Only Hospital; Kenneth Hall Closing After 120 Years

The Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis will close within the next three to four months.Kenneth Hall Hospital should close by end of summer.​The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted to shutter the hospital yesterday. The facility -- founded in the 1890s -- had op ... More >>

Foot Hi Pie at Blue Springs Cafe

Robin Wheeler​Last October Gut Check staged the Great Illinois Pie Fight, with Blue Springs Cafe in Highland taking a sound beating from Mills Apple Farm in Marine. How sound was the beating? But if we ever need to gather ammunition for a pie fight, we're heading straight to Blue Springs. O ... More >>

50,000 Sows Bought by Illinois Farm

​Not all family farms are small affairs. The Maschhoffs' LLC in Carlyle, Illinois -- one hour east of St. Louis -- is technically a family farm, in that it's owned by a family. A family that owns nearly 200,000 hogs. No, this isn't an episode of Confessions: Animal Hoarding. It's business-as ... More >>

Karaoke Singer Shot in Granite City Bar

​Karaoke can be insufferable. But don't blame that tone-deaf singer, blame the bar that's hosting this detestable open-mic free for all. Darrell Buettner, 52, of Pochantas, Illinois, followed that strategy and failed miserably at a tavern outside Granite City this month. Captain Brad Wells with th ... More >>

Cops Bust Truck Hauling Tomatoes and 600 Pounds of Pot on I-55/70

​On Monday morning, February 14, Illinois State Police found 600 pounds of marijuana in a tractor-trailer hauling tomatoes on Interstate 55/70 near Highway 159 in Collinsville. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Jose A. Martinez of Glendale, Arizona, and Manuel Medrano of Merced, Calif ... More >>

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center Re-opens In East St. Louis; Finances Shuttered Center in 2009

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center launches again. ​Two years after a Belleville News-Democrat investigation exposed questionable consulting contracts and massive debt at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, the East St. Louis youth center is once again on firm financial ground. Yesterday the center re-opene ... More >>

Free Donkey, If You Want It

Image viaGet a load-a this piece of ass. PUN!​A lady out in Caseyville, Illinois has taken in a stray donkey, but can't afford to feed or "geld" (meaning "de-bro-ify") him. So "Hobo" the donkey needs a new owner.Note: Hobo is truly a donkey. Daily RFT, fearing a bait-and-switch, was concerned he m ... More >>

Club Flava: One Person Wounded in Latest East St. Louis Club Shooting

Image viaFlava Flav does not approve of violence at Club Flava​Metro east police officials have long argued that late-night violence at East St. Louis bars and clubs is largely to blame for the city's crime woes. After this weekend, the cops have yet another piece of evidence to back up their clai ... More >>

Feel Bad for the Woman Who Spent 9 Hours in Cuffs?

Image viaShe languished so long in cuffs...but allegedly beat a dude with a baseball bat.​What she did: According to Washington Park's finest, the woman in question (related to the town's former mayor) broke into somebody's house with a male accomplice. Police suspect a certain motive, but aren't ... More >>

Kenneth Cany: East St. Louis Man Murdered Early This Morning Outside Cahokia

Illinois police are investigating the pre-dawn murder of a man in unincorporated Cahokia today.According to the St. Clair Sheriff's Department, the victim from East St. Louis was sitting in his girlfriend's car parked on Violet Drive (below) around 4:15 a.m. this morning when he was shot multiple ti ... More >>

Tats for Tits: Tattoo Shop Giving Free Pink Ribbon Tattoos

image via​It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in case you hadn't caught wind of that fact in spite of the pink football uniforms, shopping bags, coffee sleeves, etcetera. It would seem that we're saving the world one rack at a time, judging by the pale pink hue of Schnucks bags littering the sidew ... More >>

Driving Tip: Don't Swerve to Avoid Deer, Go Right at 'Em

​A Missouri man is dead after a collision early this morning with a deer near Springfield. According to reports, Mark Pross, 58, of Pacific, was driving along Interstate 44 in southwestern Missouri when his car veered off the road and overturned following a collision with a deer around 2:25 a.m. I ... More >>

Pappy's Smokehouse vs. 17th Street Bar & Grill on Food Network

Image viaMichael Symon, host of Food Feuds​The Food Network will pit (ha ha) the ribs from barbecue meccas Pappy's Smokehouse and 17th Street Bar & Grill against each other for a new show called Food Feuds. Hosted by the Cleveland-based Iron Chef America chef Michael Symon, Food Feuds will deb ... More >>

Old Dude Shot During Quarrel Over Which Branch of the Military is Better

Image viaC'mon guys, we're in this together!​Psssst...fellas...we're grateful for your service. But weren't you trained to fire at foreigners?This from the Belleville News-Democrat this morning:A 57-year-old Centreville man is in police custody for allegedly shooting a 55-year-old man in the leg.. ... More >>

Jesse and Latonya Robinson: Washington Park Couple Allegedly Stole Money Intended for Hurricane Katrina Victims

Anyone who has ever driven through Washington Park knows that the place looks like it was recently hit by a hurricane. Save for the strip clubs, the tiny village next East St. Louis is full of buildings that are burned down, boarded up and falling over.But while some of the residents probably should ... More >>

Jonathon Jones: Shot Dead, Two Friends Wounded in Washington Park Home Invasion

Three men were shot -- one fatally -- early this morning in Washington Park.Police arrived at a house on the 1300 block of N 51st Street at 12:42 a.m. and found that 25-year-old Jonathon Jones had become the village's third homicide of 2010.View Larger MapJermaine Lloyd and Orlando Lang, both 25, we ... More >>

How About a Stabbing to Go With That Margarita?

That red stuff on the parking lot? It ain't salsa.​'Twas a wild night Saturday at the Perez Cantina, a Mexican bar/restaurant in Fairmont City that puts the sangre in sangria. According to the Belleville News-Democrat, a group of men got into fight in the parking lot of the southern Illinois bar a ... More >>

Travis Heard: Man Caught Stripping Copper from Strip Club Shot Dead in East St. Louis

Police in East St. Louis say Travis Heard, 33, was on the roof of the Colony II Theatre and Cocktails strip club around 5 a.m. this morning when he was confronted by the club's owner. Colony II Theatre and Cocktails at 4500 Forest Blvd.​Heard was reportedly ordered off the roof at gunpoint and esc ... More >>

Man Found Shot in Both Legs, Covered in Blood on Belleville Sidewalk

Belleville Police stumbled upon a grizzly grisly scene early Thursday morning: a man with gunshot wounds to both of his legs, covered in blood from the waist down.The man, whose name has not been released, was discovered at 2:55 a.m. yesterday on the 100 block of West C Street.View Larger MapAccordi ... More >>

Q: Who Spray-Painted a Penis on New Metro East Church? A: Lord Knows

​Members of The Gathering Place in Collinsville made a shocking discovery at the debut of their new church this past Sunday. It wasn't the Easter bunny. No. Some miscreant had spray-painted an upside down cross, the numbers "666" and a crude depiction of "male anatomy" on the side of the building. ... More >>

Martin "Marty" Lampe: Maplewood Man Killed in Carjacking in Sauget

A 23-year-old Maplewood man who'd recently enlisted in the U.S. Army was shot and killed during a pre-dawn carjacking Wednesday in Sauget. Google Street ViewThe building that houses Route 3 Liquor.​As the Belleville News-Democrat reports this morning, Martin "Marty" Lampe was sitting in a friend's ... More >>

Belleville News-Democrat Channels Its Inner Onion with Story of Man's Love Affair with Pot

Here's some nice end-of-day reading for you courtesy of The Onion, we mean the Belleville News-Democrat. We like this story so much, almost as much as this local man likes his pot.   ​ Read the entire article here.

St. Louis Man Finds Ex-Girlfriend with Naked Lover, Goes Crazy

bnd.comMinchul McCullough​Here's a wild-ass tale from Fairview Heights, Illinois. Police there arrested Minchul McCullough, 24, of St. Louis, on Saturday after he busted into his ex-girlfriend's apartment and found her with another man. According to the Belleville News-Democrat: The man had awaken ... More >>

This is What Happens When You Run a Meth Lab at a Cemetery.

Image Via​Meth heads -- so long as they show up to work and don't steal anything -- generally make outstanding employees. Think about it: their energy is boundless and they never lose focus so they can work tirelessly for hours on end. There's a reason the Nazis gave the stuff to their foot soldie ... More >>

Arson Suspected After East St. Louis "Skinhead Nazi Strip Club" Burnt Down Last Night

​The weird saga of the City Nights club in East Boogie just got a little weirder. And a lot hotter. Because it burned down last night. That's why we say, "hotter."  Only a few months after a black man was murdered in this apparently all-white dive, the building went down in flames at 12:20 a. ... More >>

Fast Times at Granite City High

Image Via​Sex, booze, sexting, private dicks, extra-special special education, and a girls volleyball coach gone bad: It's not even winter break and already it's been a banner year for Granite City High SchoolThe Belleville News-Democrat did a nice bit of muckraking for this morning's edition, run ... More >>

Belleville to Add Monitors to School Buses

Welcome aboard. Now find a seat, punk.​Three months after two students were expelled and charged with felonies for beating the living snot out another student on a school bus, Belleville School District 201 says it plans to add monitors to its buses. The monitors (anyone else having flashbacks to ... More >>

Fairmount Park Could Cash $7-Million Ticket Today

Image via​The owners of Fairmount Park might as well have hit a superfecta, a quadrella, and a pick four in the same afternoon of betting -- the jackpot they're about to cash-in is just that huge.Today, after nearly three years of legal wrangling, the area's only horse track will likely finally re ... More >>

Trouble at the Chili Cook-Off? An AK-47 Ought To Clear That Up

Image Via​So you're at the chili cook-off in Belleville, simmering a pot of the ol' extra-spicy secret recipe when some poseur gourmand comes along and disses your batch, calls it weak sauce. Now you have two options: A. Shrug it off, be the bigger man, and let the beans speak for themselves OR... ... More >>

Madison County Man Arrested For Re-Enacting Old Yeller

Film still from The Everett Collection via Time.com​Imagine your dog is old. Really old. We're talking 100 dog years old.Now-- after a decade of playing fetch, belly scratching, begging for table scraps, and pissing on the carpet--- the dog is sick. It can't walk, can't see, can't hardly even eat ... More >>

UPDATED-- Seat's Taken: Brutal Bus Beatdown in Belleville Witnessed by Thousands

www.busesonscreen.netIf you haven't yet seen the video of the vicious Belleville West High School bus beating that happened on Monday, go watch it now. It's a brutal example of how high school-- despite all kinds of new technology and political correctness-- hasn't changed much over the past 75 year ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 9.2

​ What's wrong with Sheila Lukins' obituary? Lots of things. (The NYTPicker.com)Michael Pollan has his say on Whole Foods boycotts. (Newmajority.com)Illinois' new alcohol tax hike is in effect. (Belleville News-Democrat)Optimistic restaurateurs opting for smaller venues and menus in new vent ... More >>

The Big Bloody: Another Shooting at The Pink Slip Strip Club

Wikimedia Commons​For the second time this month, a man was shot at the Brooklyn strip club the Pink Slip, the Belleville News-Democrat reports. This time the shooting was not deadly. Details are scarce but here's the rub:A St. Louis man was shot inside a nightclub early Sunday.According to I ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 8.13

​The Illinois sales tax rate change for candy, bottled coffee, and bottled tea will be effective September 1st. (Belleville News Democrat)Rogue River Blue Wins 2009 American Cheese Society top honors. (Serious Eats)Food stamps linked to weight gain. (Science Daily)How does DIY fizzy water comp ... More >>

Motorist Kills Armadillo in Illinois Town, Authorities Have Critter Photographed and Frozen

An armadillo in its natural state.​Perhaps it's just a slow news day in the southwestern Illinois town of Shiloh. Or perhaps what  occurred there this morning will be remembered centuries later as the tipping point of man's impact on planet Earth. If it's the latter, it will be well documente ... More >>

St. Clair County Brings Out the Big Guns In Lawsuit Against Local Shooting Range ... Because Its Members Might Shoot Down a Fighter Jet?

thedonovan.comThe Belleville News-Democrat published a curious story this morning about St. Clair County's four year-long legal battle with a gun club in Caseyville. Since June 2001, the county has spent almost $200,000 in legal fees attempting to shutter a shooting range near Scott Air Force B ... More >>

How Many Post-Dispatch Writers Does it Take to Re-Report a Story?

Last week we mentioned the great investigative piece in the Belleville News Democrat that called into question curious payments at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis. As the BND outlined in its Jan. 11 cover story, the charitable foundation founded by Olympic track st ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 4.8

Gavel Rousing

RFT staff writer Geri L. Dreiling makes a strong case before the Bar Association of St. Louis