Share and Follow
PAXTON, Ill. (WCIA) — A man from Paxton was arrested earlier this week after police said he tried to intimidate a witness in a court case against a different man.
WCIA’s partners at the Ford County Chronicle reported that Alex Riblet, 39, was arrested Wednesday. The Paxton Police Department said in its most recent blotter that Riblet tried to intimidate the witness at the direction of Jerome Burkes, a 33-year-old also from Paxton.
Police said Burkes was arrested in December in connection to an alleged domestic battery that happened the prior month. Court records show he’s been in custody since his arrest, but there was a hearing on Feb. 3 to reconsider his pretrial detention.
Riblet was one of two witnesses who were called by the state to testify during that hearing.
The Paxton Police Department said Burkes allegedly instructed Riblet to intimidate and threaten another witness into changing their testimony. Officers did not say if the witness Riblet targeted was the second witness who testified on Feb. 3, and they also did not say exactly when that intimidation happened.
As of Friday evening, Ford County court records have not been updated to report new charges against Burke for his alleged role in the intimidation scheme, and there are no new cases filed against Riblet.
Burkes was again denied pretrial release on Feb. 3 and a trial is scheduled to begin March 5.
More information on the case can be found on the Ford County Chronicle’s website.