Peoria Standard

Donald Criss, 39, has been charged with home invasion and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon after allegedly forcing his way into his girlfriend's house in Peoria and assaulting her. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. on Friday, November 7, when police responded to the intersection of Wayne and Glendale in Peoria’s North Valley.

A woman staying at the victim’s house told officers that Criss entered the home armed with a handgun while children were present. She was able to escape and seek help. Officers went to the residence in the 700 block of Wayne Street, escorted the victim and her children out safely, and took Criss into custody after ordering him outside. A handgun was found during a search.

The victim confirmed the witness’s account, stating that Criss struck her multiple times and choked her. Police observed visible injuries on her face.

During his detention hearing, “the State’s Petition to Detain was granted, meaning Criss will remain in custody until trial.” The investigation is ongoing. Authorities ask anyone with information about this incident to contact the Peoria Police Department at 309-673-4521.

In other developments related to Peoria County schools, recent data shows that there were 27,081 students enrolled across county schools during the 2022-23 school year with an average student-to-teacher ratio of 15-to-1 (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Teacher absenteeism for Peoria County schools stood at 32.3% during that period compared to Illinois’ average of 35.6% (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Among local high schools, Dunlap High School had the highest enrollment of white students (873), Richwoods High School led in multiracial student enrollment (182), Lincoln School had the most Hispanic students (218), and Peoria High School reported the highest number of Black students (798) for that year (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx).