Peoria Standard

Anthony D. Morris, 25, has pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery following an incident at the Lexington Hills Apartment Complex in Peoria on February 14, 2025. According to authorities, Morris and another individual forced their way into an apartment after knocking on the door. Morris was armed with a gun and held it to one of the occupants' heads while demanding items including a phone, car keys, credit cards, and a jacket.

The second suspect was identified as Haywood Drummond. Drummond previously pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in September 2025 and received a sentence of six and a half years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

As part of Morris's plea agreement, remaining charges were dismissed by the state. He faces a maximum possible sentence of twelve years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for January 9, 2026.

Peoria County’s educational landscape includes 64 schools with a student-to-teacher ratio averaging 15-to-1 during the 2022-23 school year, serving more than 27,000 students and staffed by nearly 1,850 full-time faculty members (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). Teacher absenteeism in Peoria County schools stood at just over 32 percent that same year, slightly below the statewide average (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx). The county’s high schools show diverse enrollment figures: Dunlap High School reported the highest number of white students at 873; Richwoods High School had the largest group of multiracial students with 182; Lincoln School recorded the most Hispanic students at 218; and Peoria High School had the highest enrollment of Black students with 798 (https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Home.aspx).