Criminal charges filed Monday following incident

Two Tuscola 12-year old girls were faced with a scary situation early Saturday, August 22 at approximately 12:30 a.m. while they were camping in one of the girl’s backyards. According to information given to this newspaper and posted on social media, the two girls heard noises and called 911 to report the incident.

When the Tuscola police officer arrived on the scene, the girls told the officer they saw two men with one of them holding a knife and they allegedly chased the girls in the alley.

Recognizing Robert Ford and Jordan Quick, the officer questioned the pair and found a large knife in the area and a second small knife in Ford’s shirt pocket.  Ford, who was convicted of violating an order of protection in 2018, is not allowed to possess a knife with a blade over three inches long.

The officer found several bags of white power in Quick’s possession that he admitted was methamphetamine which did field test positive for methamphetamine.

Douglas County State’s Attorney Kate Watson on Monday charged Ford, 44, of Tuscola, with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon for allegedly having a knife, and Quick, 20, of Longview, with possession of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine.  

Both have been charged with Class 3 felonies and bond was set at $15,000 each with penalties ranging from probation to two to five year in prison if convicted. 

Ford has been appointed James Lee as his public defender with a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 9 at 1:30 p.m. and the state’s attorney’s office is awaiting the assignment of the next court date for Quick. 

According to Watson this is a fresh incident and the investigation continues.  There is always a possibility of additional charges as more information is uncovered.