Free Republic

A pregnant Missouri woman who was found dead at her home on Thursday was allegedly beheaded by her ex-boyfriend. KMOV reported that Liese Dodd, 22, was discovered dead at her Alton home after her mother came to check on her. Deundrea Holloway, 22, was accused of beheading Dodd and discarding her head in a dumpster. Dodd — who was due in mid or late July — had been in an on-and-off relationship with Holloway for the past two years, according to KMOV. “She was savagely killed. She was decapitated,” Alton Police Chief Marcos Pulido said. Holloway was arrested in Gillespie,...

The mayor of a southern Illinois city said his wife was among a group of people who violated the state's stay-at-home order to hang out at a local bar. On Sunday morning, police in Alton, near the Missouri border, broke up a gathering at Hiram's Tavern that was "clearly disregarding the executive order and public pleas for compliance," the police department said in a news release. Police did not say how many people were at the bar and did not name any of the violators. But Mayor Brant Walker said in a Facebook post Monday that his wife, Shannon Walker,...

Consistent with Secretary Zinke’s priorities for responsible development of energy on public lands and serving America, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Alton Coal Tract Lease by Application for Federal coal resources on lands near Alton, Utah. The decision selects the preferred alternative and includes protective stipulations that will be incorporated in the lease, which will help minimize, or eliminate, effects to wildlife, air, water, recreation and other issues of concern. “Today, after more than a decade of rigorous environmental studies, I was happy to hear that the Trump administration took...

McALLEN — Federal agents arrested four people accused of smuggling 131 illegal immigrants found at a stash house near Alton. ICE agents detained the 131 illegal immigrants Tuesday after a raid at a house near Rhode Island and St. Jude streets, outside Alton, said Nina Pruneda, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. The immigrants found at the house were from Mexico and Central America, and did not require medical attention, Pruneda said. The four people arrested had been expected to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in McAllen to face human smuggling charges, but no court filings detailing the alleged...

NEAR ALTON — Gunshots broke out late Friday afternoon before a gang of men kidnapped two others near a rural workshop beside an orchard. Sheriff’s deputies said several men kidnapped Armado Cantu and Eliberto Mireles were working at the tool shop at 10612 N. Moorefield Road about 5:30 p.m. Friday. Dispatchers received a call about a shooting, but after deputies arrived it was clear two men had also been kidnapped, Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. Witnesses told deputies Cantu and Mireles were working outside the tool shop when several men pulled up in a white Ford Explorer and a...

ALTON - A former Mexican police officer with ties to a violent Texas prison gang was kidnapped this weekend from a home west of the city, Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies said Monday. Investigators believe five men broke into the house near the intersection of 5 Mile Line and Brushline Road just before 10 p.m. Friday. They abducted 37-year-old Jose Valencia Garcia and stabbed a 14-year-old boy several times in the head. The injured teen - Andres Garcia - survived the attack and is expected to recover, sheriff's deputies said. Authorities are unsure whether the two Garcias are related or were...

ALTON -- This weekend, Marquette Catholic High School's Coach Mike Slaughter suspended the first stringers on his No. 1 division-ranked football team from playing in the all important Anna-Jonesboro playoff game. http://www.illinoisleader.com/news/newsview.asp?c=2959