Peoria Standard

Israel Ruiz, 41, has been charged with aggravated stalking and residential burglary in connection with incidents involving his ex-girlfriend in Peoria, Illinois. At a detention hearing, the court granted the state's petition to detain Ruiz, so he will remain in custody until his trial.

On October 4, 2025, police responded to a home on the 1100 block of NE Glen Oak Avenue after the victim found a hidden video camera inside her residence. The victim told officers she had ongoing problems with Ruiz and had recently secured an order of protection against him. She also reported that Ruiz had previously threatened her and her children, deflated her car tires, and removed a camera from her house.

Ruiz was arrested on October 15, 2025. In an interview with police, he admitted to breaking into the victim's home three times, installing two hidden cameras inside, and placing a GPS tracker in her vehicle.

The investigation is ongoing and authorities say additional charges may be filed. The Peoria Police Department asks anyone with information about the case to call 309-673-4521.

In other developments related to Peoria County schools, the average student-to-teacher ratio during the 2022-23 school year was 15-to-1, with 27,081 students enrolled and 1,844 full-time faculty members across the county's schools according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Teacher absenteeism in Peoria County schools stood at 32.3% for the same period, which is lower than the statewide average of 35.6% (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Among the county's 64 schools, Dunlap High School had the highest enrollment of white students at 873, Richwoods High School had the highest enrollment of multiracial students at 182, Lincoln School had the highest enrollment of Hispanic students at 218, and Peoria High School had the highest enrollment of Black students at 798 (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx).