UPDATE 10/1 10:30 am: A Monmouth man is being held in lieu of $100,000 bond on felony drug and weapons charges.
30-year-old Joshua G. Rost made his first appearance in Warren County Circuit Court Tuesday where bond was set and the Public Defender’s Office was appointed to represent his case. He is charged with counts of armed violence, possession of methamphetamine, and unlawful use of a weapon.
According to Monmouth Police, officers responded to the area of US 34 and West 200th Avenue for a traffic accident.
Once on the scene, officers spoke with one of the drivers involved in the accident. That driver stated the other individual, later identified as Rost, asked him not to call the police. When told him he was calling the police, Rost allegedly fled on foot. Witness told police they saw a man matching the description of the other driver enter a red vehicle and depart the scene.
Officers did a search of the abandoned vehicle, finding a multi-colored drug pipe along with a small plastic baggie of “white crystal-like substance, which had the appearance [of] methamphetamine.” Officers noted that the suspected meth field-tested positive.
Officers were able to identify Rost as the driver and through their investigation were able to locate him near the 900-block of West Broadway.
Reports say that officers identified themselves to Rost but he took off running. K9 units were called in and Rost was located hiding under a large shrub in the 800-block of West Broadway. Police found a .4o caliber firearm magazine containing eight bullets inside in the area he was arrested.
While retracing the chase, officers searched the area of a fence that Rost had allegedly jumped over. There, they found a .40 caliber handgun.
Reports indicate that during their interview of Rost, he admitted to having possession of both the firearm and the methamphetamine but denied they belonged to him.
He was taken to the hospital after his arrest to address an injury related to the chase and then booked at the Warren County Jail.
Reports indicate that the Illinois State Police and Warren County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the apprehension.
Rost will be back in court on Tuesday, October 22, for a preliminary hearing.
