A Peoria County Judge granted the State’s motion on April 27 to transfer two teenagers, Jaiden M. Dillard and Rodkell K. Grayer, both aged 15, to adult court following a carjacking incident that took place in December 2025. The two will now face charges of Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking as adults.
The decision to move the case to adult court was based on several factors, including the seriousness of the offense, the ages of Dillard and Grayer, their prior juvenile history, and concerns about public safety. Both teens will remain in custody at the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center while awaiting further proceedings.
According to authorities, on December 6, 2025, around 8 a.m., a GMC Sierra was reported stolen from its owner’s driveway. Police tracked the vehicle using OnStar technology and stopped it near N. Knoxville by the CEFCU bank. Five juveniles exited and fled in different directions; officers pursued Dillard and Grayer into a bank parking lot where they attempted another carjacking at an ATM. Police said Grayer pointed a gun at a driver while Dillard tried to pull them out of their Hyundai Genesis.
As police intervened, they ordered Grayer to drop his weapon; he discarded it into nearby grass before fleeing inside the bank where he was apprehended. In addition to Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking charges, Grayer faces counts of Vehicular Hijacking and Aggravated Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
Dillard entered the Hyundai Genesis during this encounter and tried unsuccessfully to drive away with officers attempting removal from the vehicle. He collided with several objects—including an ATM pillar and concrete lamppost—before being detained after attempting escape on foot.
The investigation remains ongoing; anyone with information is encouraged by authorities to contact Peoria Police Department at 309-673-4521.
Peoria County schools had an average student-to-teacher ratio of fifteen-to-one during the 2022-23 school year with over twenty-seven thousand students enrolled across sixty-four schools according to data from Illinois State Board of Education. Teacher absenteeism in Peoria County stood at thirty-two point three percent for that period compared with thirty-five point six percent statewide according to Illinois State Board of Education. Dunlap High School had the highest number of white students enrolled (873), Richwoods High School led in multiracial student enrollment (182), Lincoln School had most Hispanic students (218), while Peoria High School recorded highest Black student enrollment (798) according to Illinois State Board of Education statistics.
