Police: Ashton man killed with rock

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DIXON –A 28-year-old Ashton man who was found dead early Sunday in his apartment had been hit in the head with a rock, investigators said in court documents filed Wednesday.

The body of Todd E. Harn was found around 7:30 a.m. Sunday at 604 Brown Ave. by a female roommate who, police say, was in the apartment when he was killed.

Eric M. Lemons, a 28-year-old acquaintance, was arrested the next morning at his Ashton home and charged with first-degree murder.

Lemons appeared in court via closed circuit TV Wednesday, when bail was set at
$2 million and Lee County Public Defender Bob Thompson was appointed to represent him.

He faces 20 to 60 years if convicted, and has a preliminary hearing April 22.

Also Wednesday, Thompson filed a motion asking Circuit Judge Ron Jacobson to have Lemons’ blood tested for controlled substances. In the motion, Lemons says Harn was a known cocaine dealer; Lemons wants his blood tested to show he is clean.

Jacobson is expected to rule on the motion today.

A large, brick-like landscaping rock was found outside the apartment building Monday morning; a substance “consistent with blood” was on it, Lee County Sheriff John Varga said.

It is being tested by a forensics lab.

Varga declined to say whether Lemons’ fingerprints were on the rock. He also declined to say what led to Lemons’ arrest.

The investigation is continuing, and police are working with the roommate to establish a timeline of events, he said.

Still, “we had enough information to get an arrest warrant for [Lemons],” Varga said. “We feel very confident that we have the right person based on the information we’ve received.”

Lemons’ mother, Jane Bleiziffer of Naperville disagrees. In an interview with WREX-TV Wednesday, she said police have the wrong man.

“He’s a great kid,” she told WREX. “I love him with all my heart. And my son is not evil. He’s not malicious. I do not believe this has happened. I believe this is a setup.”

Harn, formerly of Abingdon, had been living in the apartment with the woman, a toddler and another man for about a month, Varga said.

He was paroled in December after serving fewer than 6 months of a 30-month sentence for theft and obstruction of justice in Whiteside County, and for reporting a false theft in Lee County, which netted a concurrent 18-month sentence.

Lemons has traffic and burglary convictions in Cook County, Varga has said.

Harn funeral today

The funeral of Todd E. Harn, 28, of Ashton, was noon today at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Abingdon Chapel in Abingdon.

Harn, a 1999 graduate of Abingdon High School, served in the Army and worked in construction before moving to Ashton.

He is survived by his mother, Teresa Johnson, and an aunt, Kathy Carter, both of Galesburg; sons Cobain, Riley and Kolten; a sister, Kelly Denise Harn of Bushnell; his grandparents, Gene and Carol Heap of Media and Leo Harn of Bushnell.

Go to www.h-p-w.com for his complete obituary or to post condolences.