Court hearings on tap for Harrisburg fugitive

HARRISBURG - A Harrisburg man who police say may have been involved in the June 16 shooting death of Aaron Gregory has been extradited to Saline County from Kentucky and awaits his next court hearing.

Jared R. Crawford, 30, was transferred to the Saline County Jail on June 22, where he remains on an aggravated battery charge from March plus an additional aggravated battery charge from 2016.

Crawford has not been charged in the death of Gregory, who was shot to death in a home on South Granger Street early on June 16.

Also wanted for questioning in the killing is 19-year-old Harrisburg man Xzavier Gibbs, who remains at large.

Harrisburg Police Chief David Morris said police believe Gibbs is somewhere in the Saline County area.

Police in Henderson, Ky. arrested Crawford June 16 at the Henderson apartment where his girlfriend lives, according to Henderson Police Lt. John Nevels. Nevels said both Crawford and Gibbs have been known to frequent the Henderson area, and Illinois State Police issued a fugitive warrant.

According to Saline County courthouse records, Crawford is accused of hitting a man over the head with a beer bottle on April 3, 2016, at the now-defunct Los Amigos bar on Raymond Street in Harrisburg. He was charged with aggravated battery and bond was set at $20,000. He posted $2,000 and was released.

Then, on March 22, 2017, Crawford was accused of tackling a man in the parking lot of the Economy Inn and Suites, 411 E. Poplar St. According to court records, that violated the conditions of his bond from the 2016 charge and resulted in Crawford again being charged with aggravated battery. This time, bond was set at $10,000. He posted $1,000 and was released.

Crawford will have a pretrial hearing for the 2016 aggravated battery charge and a preliminary hearing for the March charge at 1 p.m. on July 13.

Gibbs, meanwhile, missed a court date last week related to a 2017 aggravated battery charge lodged against him, Morris said.

"Now he has another warrant out," Morris said Thursday.

Morris said Gibbs missed court last week, resulting in a warrant for failure to appear to be issued. The no-bond warrant for aggravated battery issued in May remains in force, Morris said.