It’s “sort of” because no one was injured, so it wasn’t exactly “a shooting”…it was just a resident firing in the air. However, there was reportedly an arrest, and here’s what we know:

An iN THE AIR shooting….

At about 10:20 p.m. last night (Friday, May 17, 2013) Adam Fancher was at his parents’ house (the Terry Fancher residence) at The Ridge in northwestern Clay County when he fired a weapon into the air, “blowing off steam,” as it was characterized to us by unofficial sources. But, as it turned out, Adam Fancher is a felon, and having a weapon in his possession—firing it notwithstanding—reportedly violated his parole.

Someone called the cops, and the response was massive, as it usually is at The Ridge. At least five state troopers are reported to have arrived with the locals, and were there until 3:30 a.m. or so, when it was sorted out and Fancher was reportedly taken in.

And that’s all there was to that.

Rampant rumors about another shooting, this one in another location (we’ve heard Flora, as well as Louisville), have no basis in fact. The gist of these was that Robert Sherman had gone on a rampage and shot people, supposedly members of his family. THIS IS NOT THE CASE, and there’s simply nothing to it. How this one got started, we may never know. But our sources have been calling law enforcement and bugging them about it all day, and it’s just not real. So everyone worried about that one can rest easy.

Check back frequently about The Ridge situation, to see if there are any changes.

Zephrum and Lily Jones

CLAY CO.—A tragedy in mid-April was made even more disastrous just three weeks later when a Clay County father had his parental rights violated by his daughter’s grandmother.

Lilian (Lily) Jones, age 2, was left without a mother after Andrea Weiler, 25, died two days following an ATV accident in Jasper County at that time.

The baby was staying with her father, Zephrum Jones, 30, that weekend per a joint agreement between the parents that had been in affect for the past eight months, since Weiler and Jones had split up after six years and when they were both living in Vincennes, Ind. Jones had moved back to Flora, and Weiler was still living in Indiana when the tragic accident occurred.

As the baby’s legal surviving parent, Jones immediately stepped up to the plate and began to make a life for his toddler.

However, all that came to a crashing halt when the little girl’s maternal grandmother refused to return her after a visit Jones allowed her to have during the first weekend in May.

Now, facing an unnecessary guardianship case in Clay County circuit court, Zephrum Jones is doing everything he can to get Lily back home.

But it appears that the grandmother, Sherrie Kittle, is driven by something more than just concern for the little girl, as court documents show; and a judge has already deemed that the matter can’t be resolved on any kind of emergency basis after Jones attempted to get his daughter back, first through law enforcement, then with a petition for Order of Protection.

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One of many photos Lily Jones’ father, Zephrum Jones, took of himself and his daughter after the death of her mother, Andrea Weiler. Jones and Weiler had only split about eight months prior to her death and no provisions were in place for Lily’s custody…except that Jones is on the birth certificate as her father, according to friends who have seen the certificate.

CLAY CO.—A tragedy in mid-April was made even more disastrous just three weeks later when a Clay County father had his parental rights violated by his daughter’s grandmother.

Lilian (Lily) Jones, age 2, was left without a mother after Andrea Weiler, 25, died three days following an ATV accident in Jasper County at that time.

The baby was staying with her father, Zephrum Jones, 30, that weekend per a joint agreement between the parents that had been in affect for the past eight months, since Weiler and Jones had split up after six years and when they were both living in Vincennes, Ind. Jones had moved back to Flora, and Weiler had recently moved to Newton when the tragic accident occurred.

As the baby’s legal surviving parent, Jones immediately stepped up to the plate and began to make a life for his toddler.

However, all that came to a crashing halt when the little girl’s maternal grandmother refused to return her after a visit Jones allowed her to have during the first weekend in May.

Now, facing an unnecessary guardianship case in Clay County circuit court, Zephrum Jones is doing everything he can to get Lily back home.

But it appears that the grandmother, Sherrie Kittle, is driven by something more than just concern for the little girl, as court documents show; and a judge has already deemed that the matter can’t be resolved on any kind of emergency basis after Jones attempted to get his daughter back, first through law enforcement, then with a petition for Order of Protection.

Now it appears to be a matter of who has more money and can hold out the longest in a court battle for probate, a sad state of America’s litigious nature, even when it comes to the best interests of an innocent child.

Accident, charges

The situation began on Saturday, April 13, 2013, when Weiler was hanging out with her new boyfriend, Derek Stanciu, 26, of Newton, in a rural Jasper County area.

The two were riding on a 2008 Polaris Razor all-terrain vehicle on County Road 1300 North, a half-mile east of Illinois Highway 130 shortly after 5 p.m. when Stanciu “lost control” of the ATV after it went off the right side of the road and into a ditch. When he attempted to get the ATV back onto the road, Weiler was thrown from it. She was not wearing a helmet, and suffered severe head injuries as a result.

Weiler was taken to St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham but was transferred to Carle Clinic in Champaign.

She survived for three days but on life support. The family (her mother Sherrie Kittle and sister Jesteen Weiler) made the decision to pull the life support on April 16.

Andrea Weiler was an organ donor and her loved ones at least had that aspect of the tragedy to comfort them.

On Monday, April 15, Stanciu was charged in Jasper County circuit court with Driving Under the Influence, Illegal Transportation of Alcohol, Improper Lane Usage and Improper Operation of an ATV on a Highway.

His driving abilities seemed questionable to begin with, as his Facebook page held a photo of an overturned ATV in a field dating back to December 2012, and remarks about it minimized the seriousness of such a thing.

The photo remained even after the accident that lead to Weiler’s death.

Friends rally around full-time father

After being only an every-other-weekend father for the previous eight months, Jones found himself being a full-time daddy once again to little Lily.

The little girl, by all reports, while missing her mommy and wondering where she was, nevertheless adjusted quickly to the new arrangements.

Jones’ friends, knowing how he still loved his ex-girlfriend Andrea and how traumatic the entire event was for him, asked the public for assistance for Lily so Jones could continue to work (for a construction company) and raise his little girl in the most comfortable way possible.

The public responded by donating clothing, baby items, furniture and funds, mainly through Jones’ best friend, Erin Workman.

Many questioned why Jones didn’t have the sought-after items to begin with.

His friends responded that he did, but didn’t have the appropriate sizes of clothing for Lily to be going into warm weather, as she of course didn’t fit into last year’s summer clothes; and there seemed to be a problem with collecting her items from Weiler’s family members.

No one knew how much of a “problem” was about to develop.

Took baby to funeral

Court documents show the progression of escalating incidents between the deceased woman’s family and the baby’s father.

On April 17, Jones recounted, in court paperwork filed May 7, that he let Jesteen Weiler see his daughter.

“She was to be home at 10:30 a.m.,” he recounted, noting that he texted Weiler in the morning with “no answer. Texted her at 10:30 and called, no answer.”

He noted in these documents that he “didn’t want Lily going to the funeral.

“Andrea’s mom Sherrie called, said she has Lily and she’s taking her. I said no, bring her home. She made me feel bad and I agreed to let her go because it was closed casket.”

But, he noted, when he himself arrived at the funeral, he discovered it was open casket.

There’s no indication of how the baby reacted to being in the presence of her deceased mother, whom she could easily see if taken within the vicinity of the casket.

Problems brewing

On April 23, court documents noted, Jones again allowed Lily to see her aunt and “again she was not where I left her. She was now in the care of Sherrie. She was supposed to be home and wasn’t.

“I called, no answer. Finally a text from Jesteen saying she was with her mom and she’ll bring her home when she’s done.”

The two incidents, and the questionable activities that ensued, lead up to the first weekend in May.

On May 4, court documents note, “I once again let Jesteen watch Lily cause I had to be out of town working for two days. Sherrie called, said she had Lily, wanted to keep her ’til Monday.”

On Monday the 6th, Jones wrote, he was supposed to meet Kittle at the McDonald’s in Flora so that he could pick up his daughter.

“I get there, Sherri is there, her husband, and Jesteen’s new boyfriend and no baby,” Jones stated in court documents. “She (Sherrie) informs me I need a lawyer and that I wasn’t getting my daughter. I call police, state police and state’s attorney and no help. Also Sherrie took her and got temporary custody behind my back.”

Law, courts of no help

Both chief law enforcement officers in the pertinent jurisdictions, Sheriff Jim Sulsburger and Flora Police Chief John Nicholson, were contacted by either Jones or his relatives and questioned as to what could be done to get the little girl back to her father. The Jones family was told that it was a civil matter and that kidnapping/abduction didn’t apply under the circumstances; Disclosure was told the same, even though there was no order in place indicating that the Kittle/Weiler group had any kind of visitation rights and the fact that Jones was the closest blood relative to the baby.

Jones was advised to gather up pertinent paperwork, including the baby’s birth certificate which clearly had his name on it, as well as a statement (affidavit) of paternity that he’d provided when he and Andrea Weiler had split up eight months before, and go to the courthouse in Clay County to request an order of protection from both Kittle and Weiler. He did so on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 7.

Because Clay County didn’t have a judge available on that day, however, the matter had to be conducted by phone. Judge Daniel Hartigan was in Jasper County on that day and heard the OP telephonically…and decided against Jones because there was “no apparent emergency” and “it appears to the court to be a custody dispute”…even though neither Kittle nor Weiler had any custodial rights, directly via a court order or indirectly via a last will or testament of Andrea Weiler, in place.

Probate petition filed

Had Hartigan issued an order of protection and ordered the baby returned to her legal parent on the 7th, what happened on the 8th may not have happened at all; or at least, it likely wouldn’t have happened the way it did.

On that day, Kittle, with the assistance of one of Clay County’s least favorite attorneys, Mary Beth Welch Collins (who ran unsuccessfully for state’s attorney in 2008), filed a petition for guardianship under a probate case in Clay.

In the petition, Kittle claimed that the minor child (Lily) resided with the grandparents, and that Jones “has indicated to (Kittle) that he believes that he is the father of the minor child, but there has never been a paternity case filed to establish his parental rights.” Immediately thereafter Kittle listed Jones as the “nearest adult relative of the minor child,” but called him “alleged father.”

While this is standard fare for guardianship probate cases, apparently Welch-Collins was asleep in the part of lawyer school that indicates paternity if a man’s name is placed as “father” on a birth certificate…and holds as legally binding even if the man ultimately ends up NOT being the biological father as it does if he IS.

The real deal: a settlement

However, the next paragraph in the probate case is probably the most telling.

There, it states that “(Kittle) anticipates that (Lily) will receive settlement proceeds from a wrongful death claim against Derrick (sic) Stanciu, as a result of the wrongful death of the minor child’s mother from injuries sustained in an accident on or about April 13, 2013.”

The petition goes on to state the necessity of having a guardian of Lily’s estate appointed so that “there is an individual having authority to execute any and all documents necessary to effectuate the settlement on behalf of the minor.”

In other words, either via an insurance claim or an actual wrongful death petition in Jasper County circuit court, Sherrie Kittle is going after money; money which she, as guardian of Lily’s estate, will have and “manage on behalf of the minor prior to the minor attaining the age of majority” (age 18).

Friends of Jones’, when this part was explained to them, asked Jones (on behalf of Disclosure; Jones chose not to speak with the publication’s staff) about any wrongful death suit or settlement, and advised that he’d “never even thought of it” until it was brought to his attention.

All he was concerned about, he said, was providing a stable and comfortable environment for his baby.

Blowing up the ‘facts’

Kittle’s petition then began blowing up the facts a bit overmuch.

She claimed that prior to Andrea Weiler’s death, the “alleged father…had visited with the minor approximately three times in the past year, had never paid child support on behalf of the minor child, and had/has never established paternity.”

Friends of Jones’ know for a first-hand fact that he’d seen his daughter more than three times in just the eight months he and her mother had been split, as they’d been around him during visiting weekends with the baby (when Jones and Weiler first split, he had to return to the area to stay with his mother temporarily, and Lily came to stay with them as many as three times a month).

As to the rest of it, they couldn’t state one way or the other (except to note that he did indeed provide diapers/sundries to Weiler on behalf of the baby), but the very existence of the birth certificate speaks for itself.

Reaching back more than a decade for ‘unfitness’

But Kittle didn’t stop there.

She brought up a recent DUI Jones had received (2012), which was resolved April 22 of this year when Jones opted to enter a guilty plea in exchange for a negotiated sentence, set to be carried out May 31.

The DUI is a misdemeanor, but of course in order to enhance the drama, Kittle, via Welch Collins, doesn’t mention that, but instead brought up other misdemeanor charges he faced from the same November 2012 traffic stop, which resulted in two separate misdemeanor counts of obstructing identification and drug paraphernalia.

These misdemeanor charges are the first Jones has faced since 2007; at that time, he had a misdemeanor cannabis charge in Clay. Prior to that, he had cannabis/paraphernalia and criminal trespass in Clay in 2004.

But Kittle/Welch-Collins decided to reach back even further—fourteen years.

They brought up 1999 Fayette and Clay county charges, including one Theft conviction that sent Jones to prison for a couple of years.

All of this, they are inferring, combines to make him unfit.

They included “statements” Jones allegedly made about obtaining all of Andrea Weiler’s property “since it was now Lily’s property” and that he had contacted the Social Security Administration “to see how much money the minor child is entitled to each month” (which is actually his right to do, as surviving parent, but apparently Welch-Collins slept through that part of lawyer school, too.)

Subterfuge on the part of grandma?

The situation is all the more exacerbated by the indications friends of Jones’, who are also mutual friends with Kittle and Weiler, have heard the two women make about baby Lily.

It appears that Kittle has no real intentions of maintaining guardianship status once she gets it, if she gets it; instead, she has expressed her intention of turning the baby over to Weiler to raise.

Weiler has little legal standing to petition for guardianship as an aunt of the child (at least, less than a grandparent); however, Weiler has a little bit of baggage of her own as regards the court system: her own felony conviction, this one over drugs, and occurring a year ago in Clay County.

In fact, Disclosure published this article about her in the April 2012 edition:

“A Rinard woman working as a Licensed Practical Nurse has been charged with taking pain pills from a patient. According to documents filed in the case, Jesteen Marie Weiler, 26, of Rural Route 1, Box 142, Rinard has been charged with Unlawful Acquisition of a Controlled Substance alleging that on or about April 8 at 2:45 a.m. while working at the Flora Gardens Care Center she unlawfully acquired possession of hydrocodone prescribed for Robert Turner, a former resident of the center, and purportedly destroyed the medication but actually destroyed aspirin so that she could use the hydrocodone for her own use.
It does not appear as if Ms. Weiler was taken into custody.”

Weiler took a plea to the charge in August of 2012; there, she was ordered 30 months conditional discharge (meaning she’s currently on it), to take drug treatment, and to pay a phenomenal $2,582 in fines and fees, of which she’s only paid $975. So as a convicted felon, she couldn’t battle a genuine father in court…but apparently her mother will, then turn the child over to her if she gets her.

Another fundraiser in the offing

Interestingly, Weiler’s children are offspring of a man, Zeb Lewis, whose brother is a Clay County deputy, Elam Lewis. Such association might be why Weiler believes the whole thing might work out to her favor.

In the Order of Protection filed against her by Jones, Jones pointed out that the Kittles, Weiler and Billingsley were “acting in an intimidating manner.”

“Sherrie said ‘We can do this the easy way’,” Jones wrote in his petition. “She said ‘they’ were getting custody of Lily and that I could maybe get visitation.”

Unfortunately, as it stood as of press time, Jones was unable to afford an attorney to fight and get his daughter back, and because the petition for guardianship was filed, it’s no longer as easy as walking in to a courtroom and showing a judge a certified copy of a birth certificate bearing his name as the father: Because attorneys make all the rules, it’s possible that Jones may have to actually go through a DNA test in order to prove that his daughter is his, and such tests cost money, as do attorneys, for which Jones hasn’t yet been able to raise the funds.

So friends of Jones’ are considering holding another drive to get baby Lily home to her father, at least attempting to raise enough funds to get an attorney to intervene on his behalf and get the birth certificate in front of a judge to establish his standing as Lily’s father.

There have been no future court dates set in the probate case as of yet; be watching Disclosure’s website for details on any upcoming activity to help Lily Jones.

Illinois State Police investigator Tim Brown testified at a preliminary hearing for Blanchard on May 6 in Louisville, where special prosecutor Mike Vujovich of the Appellate Prosecutor’s Special Prosecution Unit in Springfield took the lead in the state’s case.

Brown was the investigator who questioned McQueen at length on a DVD that sank the defense’s case in the trial that lasted a week in Lawrence County.

Vujovich was called in to the Blanchard case by Clay’s duly-elected state’s attorney, Marilyn Brant.

He was called in to the McQueen case in 2012 by former Lawrence County prosecutor Lisa Wade, who used to be state’s attorney in Clay (2004-08).

The preliminary hearing was held to determine whether there was enough evidence to bind Blanchard over for trial.

He is accused of First Degree Murder of his infant son, in which it’s alleged that Blanchard killed the almost-five-month-old in July of 2012, by shaking the baby and creating injuries with intent to kill him.

Supporters of Blanchard’s say that there’s no way the man would have done that to his son with any kind of intent, and stand by him as he goes through the court case.

Blanchard is being held on a million dollar bail ($100,000 cash) at the Clay County Jail..

He has asked for, and received on the court docket, a speedy jury trial. With his attorney being public defender Chris Elliot, he has been set to appear in court for that trial on July 15, with a final pretrial conference set for June 5.

Police say on April 10, Tyrell D. Johnson, 42, of Rt. 1, Wayne City, knowingly damaged property of Paul Grimmer, being a door on a mobile home located at Grimmer Estates, Wayne City, with damage being in excess of $300 but less than $10,000; possessed a blue smoking pipe with intent to use the pipe in inhaling, ingesting or otherwise introducing cannabis into the body; resisted the performance of Anson Fenton, knowing Fenton to be a peace officer engaged in the execution of his official duties when he pulled away and spat at Fenton and used loud and abusive language and repeatedly knocked on the doors of residences in Grimmer Estates in such an unreasonable manner as to alarm and disturb the residents.

On April 11, police say, Johnson knowingly entered upon the property of Paul Grimmer located at 906 West Section Line Road, Wayne City after receiving prior notice from officer Fenton that such entry was forbidden at the request of Grimmer.

In March 1998 he was convicted of Unlawful Driving While Revoked/Suspended Second or more and Aggravated DUI/Third or more DUI and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 18 months probation with special conditions, and ordered to pay $2,546 in fines and fees of which he still owes $1,146.

In November 1999, Johnson was convicted of Aggravated DUI/3RD+ DUI and was sentenced to three years in Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) and ordered to pay restitution and $2,551.50 in fines and fees of which he still owes $1,938.05.

In September 2002 he was sent back to DOC for 18 months after he was found guilty of Unlawful Driving While Revoked/Suspended Second or more.

In March 2004 Johnson was convicted of Unlawful Tampering of Anhydrous Ammonia Equipment and was sentenced to two years probation but in March 2006 his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to six months conditional discharge and ordered to pay a total of $2,080 in fines and fees.

A cash bond has been set in the amount of $2,500 in Johnson’s recent case.

There is also pre-trial status hearing set for June 13 at 1:30 p.m.

William H. Hagen, 46, of 3868 Bible Grove Lane, Louisville, has been charged with one count of Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine Precursors after authorities say on January 9, at 2:40 p.m., he possessed less than 15 grams of pseudoephedrine, a substance containing a methamphetamine precursor in standard dosage form, with intent that it be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

A cash bond was set in the amount of $2,500, but a motion to reduce bail was filed on his behalf by his defense attorney Ronald D. Young with information indicating Hagen has medical issues including MRSA (a contagious Staph infection) and a hernia for which he would need to see medical personnel.

Attached to the motion are doctor’s statements saying Hagen does have MRSA and diabetes for which he needs his blood sugar checked twice daily.

The plea for reduce bond did not fall on deaf ears, it appears, because Hagen was released from custody April 26, after a $200 cash bond was posted on his behalf by Patricia Willison, of 1161 Finch Ln., Louisville.

Special conditions of Hagen’s bond include that he refrain from using illegal drugs and alcohol, is to report to probation for testing, surrender his firearms, weapons and FOID card to the sheriff of Clay County and shall be subject to home confinement unless approved otherwise by the probation officer.

On May 1, Hagen requested a Jury Trial and a Pre-Trial hearing has been set for May 20 at 9 a.m.

Precursor with intent

In an unrelated case, Jennifer L. Ruppe, 36, of Rural Route 2, Xenia has been charged with Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine Precursors.

Police say on or about February 11, Ruppe possessed less than 15 grams of pseudoephedrine, a substance containing a methamphetamine precursor in standard dosage form, with intent that it be used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Ruppe’s cash bond was set in the amount of $2,500.

Conditions of her bond, should she come up with the cash, is that she is subject to random drug or alcohol testing.

The adorable little girl, pictured here, was taken to the Flora Police Department, where she was given a meal and her photo was taken and posted on the Flora Police Department’s Facebook page:

Little girl, found

The story had a happy ending when her mom came in not long after the photo was posted and reclaimed the child. She then posted this as an explanation as to what happened and why:

posted about 3:45 p.m. Monday, May 13, 2013

Regular readers will recall a similar incident occurred last summer in Lawrenceville with CC Cochran and his girlfriend Jerri Leighty, whose two-year-old essentially did the same thing: Slipped out of the family’s house at something like 3 a.m. and was found wandering around the south end of Lawrenceville. Theirs didn’t have such a happy ending; the little girl was removed from their custody and Leighty was charged in the incident and only recently pled guilty to endangering the life and health of a child, a misdemeanor.

Kudos to the Flora Police Department for handling the matter the way they did. This was a very good use of social media, and no doubt contributed to a happy ending.

These photos were taken by Elizabeth Liberty Lewis, daughter of Brian and Kimberly Lewis of Dieterich Lane, rural Louisville, just before 6 p.m.this evening when the fire was raging and local firefighters were waiting for it to burn down, as there wasn’t a lot they could do to put down the blaze, having oil origins.

The affected tank battery was located at the corner of 1500N and 1625E, or Corinth Road.

Massive oil-based smoke and flames

Explosion knocked over tanks

Help on the way

More smoke billowing

Huge BLAZE

Elizabeth is an incredibly talented writer, artist, seamstress, and, as you can see by these, photographer. And…she’s only 16 years old. GOOD JOB, Elizabeth!

Rallying around the flagpole, Clay County Courthouse, Louisville.

It’s nice to know that there are people of faith working in our government offices. Take some time today to do the same yourselves, if you are religiously inclined.