Six Year Prison Term for Blue Mound Tavern Burglar

One of two men arrested for the burglary of the Blue Mound Tavern west of Altamont has been sentenced to six years in prison.

49-year-old Craig Summers of Belleville was arrested in September of 2020. Effingham County sheriff's deputies were investigating a burglar alarm at the tavern along US Route 40 near the Effingham-Fayette County line. While responding shortly after 1am, deputies found forced entry via a broken window on the south side of the building. Deputies stopped a vehicle operating in the area and took Summers into custody.

The other suspect, 39-year-old Shaun Myers of Caseyville, was later apprehended by deputies a short distance south of the tavern in a bean field.

Once Summers is out of prison, he will serve 18 months mandatory supervised release.

Myers, whose case is still pending, is next due in court in September.