Crimestoppers Seeks Public Help Locating Two Wanted in Morgan County

Crimestoppers of Morgan-Cass-Scott Counties named two individuals in its latest Most Wanted bulletin, asking the public to help locate Venson Williams, 35, and Amanda Wilkerson, 48, both facing outstanding charges in the tri-county region.

Williams, described as a Black male standing 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing approximately 180 pounds with brown eyes and black hair, is wanted on a criminal trespass to a vehicle charge. His last known address was on South 14th Street in Springfield, and he reportedly has active matters in Sangamon County as well. Under Illinois law, criminal trespass to a vehicle, defined as knowingly entering or operating any vehicle without authority, is a Class A misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to 364 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,500.

Wilkerson, a white female described as approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and 140 pounds with long dark hair and blue eyes, faces alleged retail theft charges and a driving-with-an-uninsured-vehicle offense. Her last known address was listed on West Walnut Street in Jacksonville.

Crimestoppers is asking anyone with information on either individual to call its anonymous tip line at 217-243-7300, submit a tip online at morganscottcrimestoppers.com, send a text message, or reach out through the organization's Facebook page, which has approximately 13,923 followers. Cash rewards are available for tips that lead to arrests. The organization stresses it "never asks for your name, only your information."

The April 6 bulletin comes from an organization with a long track record in the tri-county area. Founded in 1985 as Crimestoppers of Jacksonville, the program expanded over four decades to cover all of Morgan County, then Scott County, then Cass County. Since its founding, it has facilitated more than 2,000 arrests, paid out $153,880 in cash rewards to tipsters, and recovered just under $1 million in stolen property.

The local program is part of Crime Stoppers USA, which traces its origins to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1976 and has been linked to more than 600,000 arrests and the recovery of more than $4 billion in property and drugs nationwide. That national scale reflects what the Morgan-Cass-Scott program has long demonstrated locally: anonymous tips from ordinary residents close cases that investigators cannot crack alone.

Law enforcement partners encourage tips that include vehicle descriptions, recent known locations, or social media accounts. Anyone who spots suspicious activity should call 911 directly rather than attempting to approach a subject. Crimestoppers is also currently seeking new board members to sustain its volunteer-driven operations.