(PEORIA, IL) On Thursday, July 31, 2025, at approximately 5:13 p.m., Peoria Police officers were dispatched to the 600 block of Western Avenue regarding a report of a male lying in the roadway.
Upon arrival, officers located a 40-year-old male victim in the street and immediately began administering CPR until emergency medical personnel arrived on scene. The victim was then transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
During the course of the investigation, officers learned that the victim had been involved in a verbal altercation with a male subject, later identified as 63-year-old James L. Watkins. According to initial reports, Watkins struck the victim in the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
A Peoria Police Department drone later located Watkins in the 2000 block of W. Butler Avenue. He was taken into custody without incident.
Watkins was arrested for Aggravated Battery and transported to the Peoria County Jail.
If you have any information about violent crimes, please get in touch with the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through tip411 or by calling Crime Stoppers at (309) 673-9000.