A 67-year-old Vernon man is now fit to stand trial on multiple charges including attempted kidnapping and child abduction following two separate incidents last summer.
Judge Mark Stedelin made the ruling this week in the two separate cases pending against Ronnie Crawford in Marion County Court. The decision came after reviewing a report from Physiatrist Dr. Cuneo. Crawford had originally been ordered unfit last September and placed into the custody the Illinois Department of Human Services with a requirement they place him in a suitable secure inpatient treatment facility. At the time, Dr. Cuneo felt Crawford could be fit for trial within a year with treatment.
Crawford was charged with attempted aggravated kidnapping and child abduction after allegedly holding his arms out and attempting to lure a three-year-old child to his vehicle from the front yard of a home in the 7500 block of Farthing Road in Kinmundy last October. The Marion County Sheriff’s Department reported the mother screamed at the man when she saw what was happening and he fled in his vehicle. The child apparently was never touched. Crawford was also charged with violation of an order of protection, DUI, DUI/drugs, illegal transportation of liquor, and unlawful use of adult-use cannabis when his vehicle was eventually stopped in connection with the child abduction case.
Crawford is also being held for aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting arrest after allegedly kicking the Patoka Police Chief in an incident last July.
Crawford was remanded back to the Marion County Jail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on both cases on May 30th.
Note: The headline has been changed to indicate the kidnapping and child abduction charges are for attempted kidnapping and child abduction to more clearly reflect the details of the actual charges in the story.
