Stanford Mail

Pictured is a facsimile copy of the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office Booking Report for Jacob Ragon.

Teen Assailants Are Well Known to Area Police

More information has been uncovered about the criminal histories of the young men who allegedly assaulted Danny Hale at Casey’s gas station on the evening of Wednesday, May 11th. Court documents obtained by The Mail show that the assailants are well known to local police.

On the evening of May 2nd, at approximately 8:22 P.M. Deputy Pawlak, of the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office, conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Blake Huffman. Also in the vehicle were Reece Robertson along with an unidentified juvenile female. As Deputy Pawlak approached the vehicle, he recognized the odor of cannabis and requested the help of another unit, with Officer Gilmore of the Mackinaw Police Department responding. 

From the report written by Deputy Pawlak: “I knew that Reece was wanted for questioning by Creve Coeur as of 4/30/22 for fleeing and eluding. I asked dispatch to have a Creve Coeur unit contact me by phone. I spoke with Creve Coeur Officer Scudder who had advised that they had already spoken with Reece and had impounded his vehicle.” After the matter of fleeing and eluding was settled, Deputy Pawlak conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and its occupants due to the odor of marijuana that prompted Pawlak to request backup.

Blake Huffman was the first to be removed from the vehicle and searched. He was then asked where the marijuana was in the vehicle. Huffman denied that there was marijuana in the vehicle and was then detained in the rear passenger side of Pawlak’s squad vehicle. Next up was Reece Robertson who was also searched and asked where the marijuana was. Robertson also denied the existence of marijuana in the vehicle and was detained in the back of Officer Gilmore’s squad vehicle. Lastly, the unidentified juvenile was removed from the vehicle and the process was repeated. The juvenile also denied the existence of marijuana in the vehicle and was asked to sit on the curb with Officer Gilmore, while Pawlak conducted a search of the vehicle.

Again, from the report: “During my search of the vehicle, I located several large crumbs of cannabis all over the drivers side floorboard and under the floor mat. Additionally, I located an empty bottle of Crown Apple Whiskey on the passenger side floorboard along with more crumbs of cannabis where Reece had been sitting. I located a small bag of cannabis and a mostly empty bottle of apple flavored whiskey located in the back seat where [redacted] was sitting. Additionally, on the back driver's seat I located a half empty case of Twisted Tea.” Further on in his report, Deputy Pawlak notes that Huffman did not show any signs of impairment during their interactions over the course of the traffic stop. 

Huffman, Robertson, and the unidentified juvenile were all issued Mackinaw Ordinance citations for possession of cannabis by Officer Gilmore. Huffman advised officers that the alcohol belonged to him and was issued a citation for Illegal Transportation of Alcohol along with a citation for Failure to Wear Seatbelt. His court date for those offenses is on June 23rd, at 1:30 P.M.

Correction:

In last week’s article about the assault on Danny Hale, The Mail reported that the incident ended with 4 arrests for Aggravated Battery. However, there was a 5th arrest of an unidentified juvenile male. The full charges for each person include the reported charge of Aggravated Battery, as well as Aggravated Resisting Arrest and Aggravated Mob Action.