Police Reports

Heyvaert pleads guilty to leaving the scene of accident

By KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@shawmedia.com

MORRISON – Albany’s former police chief pleaded guilty March 31 in Whiteside County Court to leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor.

Per a plea agreement, Wyatt Heyvaert, 42, of Albany was given nine months’ court supervision and levied $475 in fines and fees.

Court supervision is not a conviction. If Heyvaert successfully completes the terms of his supervision, the case will be closed and no conviction will appear on his record.

Heyvaert was d r i v i n g a 2 0 2 2 P o n t i a c G r a n d Prix just after 3 a.m. Aug. 27, his b i r th d ay , w h en h e s t r u c k a p a r k e d c a r o n state Route 84 at Sixth Avenue in Albany.

He was working for the Fulton Police Department, but was off duty at the time.

Deputies did not conduct field sobriety tests on Heyvaert because he was not at the crash site, Sheriff John Booker said.

Heyvaert turned himself in to the s h e r i f f’ s d e p a r t me n t t h r e e d a y s later, on Aug. 30, when he was cited for leaving the scene.

State’s Attorney Terry Costello filed the charge against Heyvaert on Oct. 1.

Heyvaert had resigned from the Albany Police Department on June 7 after nearly eight years there, citing difficult conditions under the new village administration. He worked two months for the Fulton Police Department, from July 12 to Sept. 6 – 10 days after the crash – before tendering his resignation.

Fulton Chief of Police Nick Neblung declined to provide a reason for the resignation, citing an agreement the city made with Heyvaert.

Heyvaert said after the crash that he no longer is in law enforcement and is not sure whether he’ll return to the profession.

Wyatt Heyvaert

Coroner: Autopsy results for 3-year-old g irl ‘inconclusive’

By KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@shawmedia.com

NELSON – Results of an autopsy conducted March 29 on the 3-year-old Nelson girl who died March 26 are inconclusive, pending the results of more lab and toxicology tests, Whiteside County Coroner Joe McDonald said March 30.

As is usual, those results could take several weeks, he said.

Tamsin Miracle Sauer’s death is u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n b y t h e L e e County Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Children and Family Services.

No one is charged in her death.

The Lee County State’s Attorney and the State Police are assisting in the investigation, Lee County Sheriff John Simonton said March 28. He declined to release any further information.

Emergency responders received a 911 call from a home in the 100 block of East Bassett Street about 1:30 a.m. March 26, McDonald said. The girl, who was unresponsive, was taken to CGH Medical Center in Sterling, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Tamsin lived with her parents, Frank and Dana Sauer, five sisters and two half-sisters in Nelson, a village of about 170 in western Lee County. Frank Sauer also goes by the first name “Joe,” according to public records.

The five Sauer children now are in DCFS custody, while the half-sisters, who were Dana’s girls, and another half-sister, who is Frank’s daughter and who stayed at the home somet i m e s , a r e w i t h t h e i r f a t h e r a n d mother, DCFS spokesman Bill McCaffrey and the two girls’ father said.

DCFS had prior interactions with t h e f a m i l y, M c C a f f r e y s a i d . H e declined to provide more information until the investigation progresses.

McDonald Funeral Home in Rock Falls is handling Tamsin’s arrangements.

Rock Falls police ID f leeing driver who died and truck driver he k illed in head-on crash on U.S. Route 30

By KATHLEEN A. SCHULTZ kschultz@shawmedia.com

ROCK FALLS – Nazier T. Pryor, 19, of Chicago, the driver of a Mercedes who led Sterling and Rock Falls police on chases through both towns March 29 and crashed head-on into a pickup truck and killed its driver, died of his injuries later March 29, Rock Falls police Chief Dave Pilgrim said.

Bruce D. O’Neal, 61, of Rock Falls was killed when Pryor was attempting to pass another vehicle and collided with his truck, which was westbound in the 1200 block of East U.S. Route 30 in front of Turnroth Signs.

According to Cook County Court records, Pryor was on probation for unlawful use of a weapon; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced May 11, 2021, for having a loaded gun in a vehicle.

According to Rock Falls police:

Sterling police attempted to stop Pryor’s black Mercedes for a traffic violation – traveling the wrong way on a one-way street – about 4 p.m., but he took off. There was a brief pursuit, during which the Mercedes struck another vehicle in the area of First Avenue and Third Street and then kept going.

Sterling officers lost sight of the vehicle near LeFevre Road and Second Avenue and the pursuit ended.

About 4:08 p.m., a Rock Falls officer spotted the Mercedes heading south on 12th Avenue and attempted to make a traffic stop, but Pryor took off at a high rate of speed and continued east on Route 30 across the Hennepin Canal with officers following “quite a ways behind,” Pilgrim said.

The Mercedes clipped an east bound vehicle as Pryor attempted to pass it about 1/4 mile east of Industrial Park Road. The Mercedes then hit O’Neal’s westbound pickup.

O’Neal died at the scene, Pilgrim said.

Pryor died at Javon Bea hospital in Rockford, Pilgrim said.

No officers were injured and no police vehicles were damaged, Pilgrim said.

The incident is under investigation by State Police crash reconstructionists. Pilgrim declined March 30 to release further information, including what, if anything, was found in Pryor’s car and how fast he was traveling until the investigation is over.

Fulton Police March 19

A juvenile driver was cited for disobeying a traffic control device in the 500 block of 12th Avenue. The juvenile was released with a promise to comply.

March 21

Destiny L. Lampl of Fulton was arrested for no valid driver’s license, adult use of cannabis in a motor vehicle and no rear registration plate light at 14th Avenue and 11th Street. She was released with a notice to appear.

March 28

A juvenile driver was cited for speeding in the 400 block of 31st Avenue. The juvenile was released with a promise to comply.

March 30

Cody L. Schipper of Fulton was cited for disobeying a stop sign and no valid driver’s license. He was released with a notice to appear.

Morrison Police Arrests

On Thursday, March 24, about 9:25 p.m., Morrison police responded to a fight that occurred outside a residence at 205 S. Genesee St., Morrison. Morrison police discovered the alleged offender left the scene but was later located in a vehicle in the 400 block of Elm Street. As a result of the investigation, Morrison police arrested and charged Michael W. Ingram, 37, of Sterling with driving under the influence of alcohol. Ingram was transported to the Whiteside County Jail, processed and released with a notice to appear. The incident remains under investigation by Morrison police. The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office assisted in this incident.

Citations March 27

Colten H. Zuidema, 21, Morrison, speed-

ing

March 28

Logan A. Petkus, 19, Morrison, speeding

Penny R. Hensley, 55, Henderson, Tennessee, speeding

Rudy Mitchell Jr., 27, Morrison, speeding and expired registration

March 29

Cody P. Podman, 25, Morrison, operating uninsured vehicle and no valid registration

Anna L. Rinker, 19, Morrison, speeding

Female juvenile, 17, Morrison, improper backing (accident)

March 31

Lori L. Moshure, 60, Morrison, parking vehicle with expired registration (public street)