DECATUR — Police said they have filed a series of armed robbery charges against a pajama-wearing bandit in Decatur accused of launching a one-man crime spree within weeks of being paroled from prison.
Travis C. Childress, 48, is now being held in the Macon County Jail on bail set at $600,000. He has been booked on five preliminary counts of robbery along with charges of resisting police and violation of parole.
A sworn affidavit signed by Decatur Police Detective Benjamin Massey said Childress was finally caught on the night of May 30 after he had held up the Thornton’s gas station at 1707 E. Pershing Road.
Police reports on Childress accuse him of committing five armed robberies in a hectic spree between May 18 and May 30. The robberies include an earlier hold-up on May 30 at 12:13 a.m. when Childress, wearing a red jacket, neon green ski mask and “white flannel checkered pajama pants” robbed the Circle K gas station at 501 N. Main St.
Police said he also held-up the USA Inn, 3141 N. Water St., in the early hours of May 27 and was frequently armed with a BB gun replica of an Uzi submachine gun. The police affidavits do not detail all his alleged robberies, but do say he made threats to the robbery victims and would hurry them along with lines like “You have 30 seconds or I’m pulling the trigger.”
Massey said Childress was paroled from prison May 5 after being sentenced in 2017 to 11 years following a guilty plea on a charge of aggravated robbery. Massey said Childress has a string of previous convictions including 12 counts of aggravated robbery and robbery.
His girlfriend is quoted as telling police Childress has a crack cocaine addiction and she feared he would beat her if she didn’t help him carry out the latest crimes.
All preliminary charges are subject to review by the state attorney's office.
Updated mugshots from the Herald & Review
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Charges were dismissed against defendant in an October hearing due to pending federal charges.
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Angela M. Schmitt
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Jon A. Merli
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Matthew R. Anderson
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Scott L. Minix
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Delahn L. Amos
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Chancellor C. Embry
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Kevin Brown
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Shawanda Apholone
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Levron K. Hines
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Avery E. Drake
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Daniel R. Blazich
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Dessica N. Jackson
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Phillip M. E. Diggs
Diggs
Blake E. Merli
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Jason C. Herendeen
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Herendeen was sentenced to 24 months conditional discharge after pleading guilty to a charge of burglary in a plea deal. He was also sentenced to 180 days in jail, with credit for 180 days already spent in custody.
Jeremiah D. Collins
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Deonte D. Smith
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Deoane A. Stone
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Carl E. Harvey II
Carl E. Harvey II pleaded not guilty to charges he stole more than $100,000 in cash and went on a shopping spree with the loot. READ THE STORY
Harvey was sentenced to six years in prison in August 2021 after pleading guilty to a charge of residential burglary.
Ashley N. Jobe
Ashley N. Jobe has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for partnering with her boyfriend to sexually assault two children under the age of 13. She pleaded guilty to two charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. READ THE STORY
Lori J. Kramer
Lori J. Kramer was sentenced to 24 months' probation and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation in connection with charges she repeatedly slapped an autistic boy across the face so hard she split open his top lip. READ THE STORY
Tony Reid
Talmel T. Wilson, Jr.
Talmel T. Wilson, Jr. pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and being a felon in possession of a weapon. READ THE STORY
The case was dismissed at a court hearing in June of 2021. But Wilson was back in court in October 2021 and pleaded not guilty to a new charge of murder in the shooting death of Suave Turner.
Dana E. Bond, Jr.
Dana E. Bond, Jr. pleaded not guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition. Bond's June 9 arrest had sparked a tense confrontation between police and neighborhood residents. READ THE STORY
Bond also appeared in court in August of 2021 pleading not guilty to new charges of attempted murder, being an armed habitual criminal and the aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Bryant K. Bunch
Bryant K. Bunch pleaded not guilty to murder in the shooting death of Devin Slater. READ THE STORY
Christopher L. Bailey
Convicted sexual predator Christopher L. Bailey pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of possession and distribution of child pornography in Decatur. He also faces federal charges of possessing child pornography and two counts of distribution. READ THE STORY
Bailey was sentenced to 27 years in prison in March of 2021 after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Urbana.
Jennifer E. Bishop
Jennifer E. Bishop was sentenced to 24 months probation after pleading guilty to a charge of endangering the life or health of a child stemming from the accidental suffocation of her baby son while drunk and sleeping in the same bed with him. READ THE STORY
Anthony J Dickey
Anthony J Dickey pleaded not guilty to charges he held up and robbed a victim in a Decatur home at gunpoint. READ THE STORY
Dickey was sentenced to five years in prison in February 2021 on a charge of aggravated robbery. All other charges were dismissed.
Tevin C.S. Bradford
Tevin C.S. Bradford pleaded not guilty to charges he attempted to shoot to death a man he found in the apartment of his pregnant ex-girlfriend. READ THE STORY
Bradford was sentenced to 10 years in prison in January of 2021 after pleading guilty to attempted murder.
Paul M. Folks
Paul M. Folks pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder after prosecutors accused of him of firing his revolver into the backs of a fleeing crowd and shooting a Decatur woman dead. READ THE STORY
Malik O. Lewis
Malik O. Lewis was arrested in June on preliminary charges of causing an accident that resulted in injury and death and failing to report an accident involving a death. READ THE STORY
Lewis was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty in October of 2021.
Demetric J. Dixon
Demetric J. Dixon is accused of being the driver who fled from the scene of a collision that resulted in the deaths of four passengers , having an estimated blood alcohol level almost three times the legal limit for driving and running a red light. He has pleaded not guilty. READ THE STORY
Dixon was sentenced to 11 years in prison in July of 2021 after pleading guilty to driving while intoxicated. All other charges were dismissed.
Leeandre M. Honorable
Leeandra M. Honorable pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder charge and two counts of the aggravated discharge of a firearm. READ THE STORY
Seth D. Maxwell
Seth D. Maxwell pleaded not guilty to charges he invaded his 81-year-old grandfather’s Decatur home before assaulting him and then dragged his mother out of the house by her hair when she intervened. READ THE STORY
Maxwell was sentenced to three years in prison in August of 2021 after pleading guilty to aggravated battery. All other charges were dismissed.
Michelle R. Batman
Michelle R. Batman, accused of helping herself at gunpoint to contents from a home she had previously moved out of, pleaded not guilty to a charge of residential burglary. READ THE STORY
Batman was sentenced in April of 2021 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated battery involving great bodily harm.
Shane A. Lewis
Shane A. Lewis, 41, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of possessing methamphetamine and two counts of resisting police. READ THE STORY
Eric D. Currie
Eric D. Currie pleaded not guilty to a charge he hit a glass counter window at a restaurant, causing flying glass shards to cut the chin and forearm of a female employee. READ THE STORY
Charges in this case were dismissed after Currie pleaded guilty in August of 2020 to an unrelated charge of possession of a weapon by a felon. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Elijah K. Jones
Elijah K. Jones has pleaded not guilty to two counts of the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, as well as charges of aggravated domestic battery involving strangulation and vehicular invasion at a preliminary. READ THE STORY
Jones was sentenced to 24 months probation in August of 2020 after pleading guilty to aggravated domestic battery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. All other charges were dismissed. He was also sentenced to 104 days in jail with credit for 104 days previously spent in custody.
Felipe K. Woodley-Underwood
Felipe K. Woodley-Underwood was arrested April 10 in Wisconsin in connection with the shooting death of Bryston Musgrave, 24. He has pleaded not guilty. READ THE STORY
Woodley-Underwood was sentenced to eight years in prison in September of 2021 after pleading guilty to Second Degree Murder.
Jessica E. Bartimus
Jessica E. Bartimus was arrested on a preliminary charge of aggravated domestic battery after police say she inflicted life-threatening stab wounds on her 31-year-old boyfriend. She told police she acted in self-defense. READ THE STORY
Aric L. Corsby
Police said Aric L. Corsby of Decatur beat his girlfriend, pressed a gun to her head and shot at her. He was arrested on a preliminary charge of attempted murder April 22. READ THE STORY
A jury found him innocent of a charge of attempted murder at a trial in November of 2021, but found him guilty on charges of aggravated kidnapping, the aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery. He is due to be sentenced Jan. 19.
Dylan R. Bunch Jr.
Police say Dylan R. Bunch Jr. was traveling around 60 mph under the influence of cannabis when he blew through a stop sign and smashed into another vehicle April 18, killing the other driver. READ THE STORY
Bunch pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and was sentenced to three years in prison in December, 2021.
Randall R. Burrus
Randall R. Burrus, 50, is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and with being in possession of a firearm after having been convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. He was arrested April 15. READ THE STORY
Tyler D. Jeffrey
Tyler D. Jeffrey has pleaded not guilty to 14 charges of possessing and distributing child pornography involving children as young as 2, as well as four counts of failing to report annually as required by sex offender registration rules. He also faces a federal charge of transportation of child pornography. READ THE STORY
In December of 2021 Jeffrey was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Timothy W. Smith
Timothy W. Smith pleaded not guilty April 1 to two charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a girl under the age of 15 and a charge of domestic battery involving physical contact against the same victim. READ THE STORY
Smith pleaded guilty in October 2020 to aggravated criminal sexual abuse and was sentenced to 48 months probation and 180 days in jail, with credit for 180 days already spent in custody.
Justin D. Tate
Police say Justin D. Tate picked up a runaway 14-year-old girl and force-fed her methamphetamine before making her perform sex acts and then raping her. He was arrested March 24. READ THE STORY
Tate pleaded guilty in June of 2020 to a charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault and was sentenced to six years in prison. The sentence was ordered to run consecutive to another six year sentence handed down to Tate the same day after he pleaded guilty to residential burglary.
Courtney Williams
Courtney Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he sexually exploited a child younger than 14. READ THE STORY
Williams was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison in July of 2021 after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation offenses.
Clarence A. Ballard
Clarence A. Ballard was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. The charges stemmed from ballard having kidnapped a girl under 13 and strangling, punching and repeatedly sexually assaulting the child. READ THE STORY
Seth M. Nashland
Seth M. Nashland, 31, was sentenced to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of inflicting aggravated battery causing permanent disability to his 8-week-old son, leaving the baby blind and racked by seizures. READ THE STORY
Tracy T. Cunningham
Tracy T. Cunningham was charged with trying to stab his mother to death. READ THE STORY
In September of 2021 Cunningham was sentenced to 24 months probation and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation after pleading guilty to committing aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was also sentenced to 180 days in jail, but given credit for 180 days previously spent in custody.
Colby J. Park
A judge is still waiting to see whether Colby J. Park is fit to stand trial in a 2018 case of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. READ THE STORY
Charles E. Gardner
Charles E. Gardner has pleaded guilty to the murder of Cody Drew and was sentenced to 28 years in prison. READ THE STORY
Jacquez L. Jones
Jacquez L. Jones has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. He is accused of shooting another man to death Jan. 9. READ THE STORY
Charges were dismissed against Jones in August of 2021, when he was also sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine.
Terrence L. Calhoun
Terrence L. Calhoun was arrested Jan. 11 after police say he stabbed a woman twice in the chest with a kitchen knife. READ THE STORY
Calhoun was sentenced to 12 years in prison in June of 2020 after he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder.
Contact Tony Reid at (217) 421-7977. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyJReid
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