On March 25th, 2021, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, Pleasant Hill Police Department, and Pittsfield Police Department responded to several reports of graffiti spray painted on businesses throughout Pleasant Hill and Pittsfield.

Subsequent to an investigation, it was discovered there were similar crimes throughout Calhoun County, Illinois.

On March 25th, 2021, William A. Friedel, age 64, of Hamburg, Illinois was arrested at Lambert Airport in St. Louis, Missouri on a Calhoun County, Illinois felony arrest warrant.

Friedel was extradited back to Illinois and lodged in the Pike County Jail.

Friedel faces five (5) counts of criminal defacement of property in Pike County, Illinois.

The incident is still under investigation and additional charges are pending.