30-year-old Anthony Britto of Ottawa appeared in La Salle County Court Thursday. He’s the only suspect in a September 12th drive-by shooting at La Salle and Main Street downtown right outside the downtown courthouse building. A driver reported shots fired directly into his windshield by a motorist who pulled up right alongside him and fired.
Britto was arrested Wednesday, September 13th by Ottawa police after a brief standoff in the 1500 block of Scott Street in Ottawa one block south of Norris Drive.
It looks like he will stand trial in 2024 because his defense attorneys asked for more time. He faces charges of first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and witness harassment. Britto was in court Thursday for a motions hearing on four felony charges including attempted first-degree murder, a class X felony that carries 26 to 50 years.
Britto was supposed to stand trial a week from today.
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46-year-old James D Williams of Bartlett was sentenced Tuesday for trying to rob several banks in 2018 including the Old Second Bank here in Ottawa.
Williams appeared in US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Since he had a gun and was a convicted felon, he hit the jackpot of a sentence, he received 39 years and 8 months.
The judge also remarked Williams’ showed no remorse or accountability for his actions.
His official path of robberies included two other banks in Gurnee and Aurora before he and an accomplice finally ended up at the Old Second Band here in Ottawa on May 31st.
His accomplice 25 year old Alexis T Handelmann also of Bartlett pled guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Also of note, William’s wife Jessica, got 2 years for providing her husband with the guns used in the robberies.
William’s lawyers argued he was being given the equivalent of a death sentence.
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Streator police say a man seated in the McDonalds Thursday night got the best of two brothers who attacked him with knives. The brothers were both life-flighted to a hospital in Peoria. Their injuries are not life-threatening.
There is an ongoing investigation and Police say they have video of everything that took place. The video has been state to the State’s Attorney’s office. The officer in charge of the incident will be back Monday evening and we expect to have a comment from him. The police are awaiting an interview with the subjects taken to Peoria.
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The Festival of Lights Holiday parade tradition will take place in downtown Ottawa, IL at 6 PM Friday, November 24, and the parade route will be from Jackson Street, running south on LaSalle Street, and end at the Jordan Block with Lighting of the Parks. Fireworks to follow.
Make sure to have a donation on hand, 8 volunteers from the Sunrise Rotary Club of Ottawa will have their famous float in the parade to collect books and toys for kids aged from toddler to 12 years old.
Keep them unwrapped and unopened. Everything collected goes to the Salvation Army for parents to collect for Christmas.
Sandy Robinson of Sunrise says since this has started they’ve collected over 16,600 toys and 7700 books.
If you miss the parade, you can also drop gifts and books off at Blains the next morning or at Heritage Harbor on Saturday evening.
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Leah Hodgeson, the special education teacher at Central Intermediate School, had her Central School life skills program 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students at the WCMY building Wednesday to get our lobby decked out for Freezin for a Reezin. It was part of the Central School tree decorating contest. The life skills program kids chose a coffee-themed tree this year and made ornaments for the WCMY tree with coffee beans in coffee colors. It was based on their “coffee cart” idea, her students bring coffee to every teacher’s classroom on Wednesdays.
The Central school has a kitchen in their classroom for Special Needs kids where they teach them life skills. Hodgeson and her two aids have the kids grocery shopping every Wednesday where they focus on what they call community training.
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WEATHER:
Monday
A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2 pm. Cloudy, with a high near 48. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
Monday Night
A chance of showers before 9 pm, then rain after 9 pm. Low around 40. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. The chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three-quarters of an inch possible.
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OBITUARIES:
None at this time.
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LOCAL SPORTS:
Shepherd Middle School
Boys Basketball
7th grade defeated Wallace 33-14. Leading the way: Mason Mucci with 9 points, Bryce Ceja, Joseph Donahue, Keandre Miller, and Bodie Martin all had 4 points. 7th grade is now 4-4.
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8th grade defeated Wallace 29-21. Leading the way: Amari Molina with 10 points, Blake Schiltz with 7 points, Jett Johnson with 4 points and 8 rebounds, and Nico Kimes and Nevan Holloway both had 4 points, as well. 8th grade is now 6-2.
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Girls basketball
Seneca 67, Marquette Academy 57: At Integrated Seeds Tournament in Seneca, the Fighting Irish trailed by two at halftime, but outscored the Crusaders 43-31 in the second half to win the third-place contest on Saturday.
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Ottawa 46, St. Bede Academy 32: At the Prairie Central Turkey Tourney in Fairbury, the Pirates finished up the event with a victory over the Bruins in the third-place contest to improve to 3-1.
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Henry-Senachwine 36, Streator 22: At the Princeton Holiday Tournament, the Bulldogs dropped to 0-4 with the loss to the Mallards in the seventh-place game.
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At Princeton: The host Tigresses beat Erie-Prophetstown 43-30 on Saturday to repeat as Princeton Holiday Tournament champions.
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Hall 55, Normal Community JV 49: Ella Sterling scored 16 points Friday to help the Red Devils to a victory in their final game of the Falcon-Irish Thanksgiving Tournament in Flanagan.
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Boys bowling
Streator places 16th in Rockford: The Bulldogs finished with a four-game team series of 3,291 to finish 16th at the Rockford Guilford Survivor Tournament at Don Carter Lanes in Rockford.
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At Plainfield: La Salle-Peru racked up 4,976 to place 28th among 44 teams at Plainfield North’s Strikefest Invite.
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PRO & COLLEGE SPORTS:
>>Bears Fall Apart In Final Four Minutes
(Detroit, MI) — The Bears gave away a near-certain victory during a 31-26 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. The Bears led 26-14 with four minutes left in regulation, but they gave up quick touchdowns on back-to-back drives to go down by three. Justin Fields lost a fumble out of the back of the endzone on Chicago’s final drive to give Detroit a safety and the win. Fields passed for 169 yards and a touchdown, and he added 104 yards on the ground. Chicago fell to 3-and-8, and they visit the Vikings next Monday.
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>>Blackhawks Give Up Late Goal In Loss
(Chicago, IL) — The Blackhawks surrendered a game-winning goal in the third period during a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at United Center. Taylor Raddysh and Philipp Kurashev both scored in the second period to tie the game at two, but Erik Johnson lit the lamp for Buffalo in the middle of the third to give the Sabres the victory. Chicago is in last place in the Central Division with ten points and a 5-11-and-0 record. The Blackhawks visit the Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
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>>Bulls Pull Off Massive Comeback
(Chicago, IL) — The Bulls overcame a 21-point deficit during a 102-97 win over the Miami Heat at United Center on Saturday. Chicago trailed 22-1 in the first quarter but fought back to take the lead when DeMar DeRozan nailed a turn-around jumper with 22 seconds left in regulation. DeRozan added three free throws the rest of the way to seal the win. He finished with 23 points in the victory. Chicago is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 5-and-9. Chicago hosts Miami again tonight.
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>>Notre Dame Destroys Wake Forest
(South Bend, IN) — Number-19 Notre Dame poured it on in the second half of a 45-7 win over Wake Forest at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. The Fighting Irish had a ten-point lead at halftime before outscoring Wake Forest 28-0 the rest of the way. Sam Hartman threw for 277 yards and four touchdowns, while Audric Estime had 115 yards and a score on the ground. The Irish improved to 8-and-3 overall. They visit Stanford this Saturday.
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>>Northwestern Beats Purdue
(Evanston, IL) — The Northwestern Wildcats are bowl-eligible following a 23-15 win over Purdue at Ryan Field on Saturday. Cam Porter ran for a pair of touchdowns to give the Wildcats a 23-7 lead in the fourth quarter. Purdue got within one score, but Xander Mueller sealed the win with an interception on the final Boilermakers possession. Porter ran for 95 yards in the victory, while Ben Bryant passed for 230 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. The Wildcats are tied for second place in the Big Ten West with a 4-and-4 conference mark and a 6-and-5 record overall. They visit Illinois on Saturday.
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>>Illinois Falls To Iowa
(Iowa City, IA) — The Illinois Fighting Illini gave up a late touchdown during a 15-13 loss to number-16 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. The Illini led 13-9 in the fourth quarter, but Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson scored a 30-yard rushing touchdown to put the Hawkeyes on top with under five minutes remaining. Illinois turned the ball over on downs during its final possession. John Paddock passed for 215 yards in the losing effort, while Reggie Love-the-third rushed for a touchdown. The Illini are tied for fourth place in the Big Ten West with a 3-and-5 conference record and a 5-and-6 mark overall. They host Northwestern this Saturday.
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>>College Football Wrap-Up
In other college football action over the weekend, Illinois State was edged by North Dakota 22-21, and Valparaiso lost to St. Thomas 16-10.
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MEN’S BASKETBALL
IVCC 76, Oakton 74: Qu’amar Hobbs scored 20 points as the Eagles earned their first road win of the season in Skokie.
Wade Sims had 15 points for IVCC (2-4), while Kamarr Evans added 11 points.
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>>Illinois Basketball Crushes Southern
(Champaign, IL) — The number-23 Illinois basketball team had no problem dismissing Southern during an 88-60 win at State Farm Center. The Illini led by 18 at halftime and outscored Southern 43-33 the rest of the way. Terrence Shannon Jr. poured in 24 points during the victory. The 4-and-1 Illini host Western Illinois this Friday.
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>>College Basketball Round Up
In college basketball action on Friday, Notre Dame beat Oklahoma State 66-64, DePaul lost to South Carolina 73-68, Northern Illinois edged Georgia State 70-64, and Illinois won against Valparaiso 87-64. On Saturday, Northwestern took down Rhode Island 72-61, Loyola snuck past New Orleans 73-70, and Northern Illinois earned a 98-93 win over Little Rock. Yesterday, Northwestern lost to Mississippi State 66-57, DePaul fell to San Francisco 70-54, and UIC dominated Aurora 99-48. Today, Bradley goes up against Tulane, and Illinois State takes on Long Beach State.