Local Man Sentenced to Prison on Series of Offenses

(CODY LAUE)

An Effingham man has been sentenced to prison on a series of offenses.

29-year-old Cody Laue was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for delivery of methamphetamine, 10 years for attempted residential burglary, and four years for aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude police officers.

Laue was spotted in August by Effingham County Sheriff's Deputy Jonathan Torbeck, who knew that there were arrest warrants active on Laue and attempted to make a traffic stop. Laue instead fled at speeds more than 20 MPH over the speed limit. The pursuit was eventually terminated for safety reasons.

Three days later, Torbeck attempted to stop Laue in Effingham. Laue fled the scene as his vehicle was stopping and escaped into a nearby cornfield. It's alleged that Laue left a large amount of methamphetamine in the vehicle and information indicated he was delivering meth to other people.

A search was conducted of the area by county, city and state officers, then was terminated. A short time later, a resident of the area said a person matching Laue's description was at his residence. It's alleged that Laue was able to gain access to multiple vehicles, and attempted to enter the house to locate keys to one of the vehicles. It's also alleged that Laue threatened the residents with a knife.

Effingham County State’s Attorney Aaron C. Jones stated, “My office would like to thank the Effingham County Sheriff’s Department, Effingham Police Department, and Illinois State Police for their joint efforts in searching for Laue on August 16, 2023. Additionally, I commend the persistence of Deputy Torbeck in his attempts to arrest Laue while he had active warrants for serious drug offenses. Further, the swift response from local law enforcment officers, particularly Officer Jake Lustig with the Effingham Police Department, in response to the call from the residents having contact with Laue, likely kept the situation from escalating. This sentence is also a credit to the hard work and thorough investigations conducted by Deputy Chris Greuel and Lt. Brandon Murray of the Effingham County Sheriff’s Department and Lt. Tom Webb of the Effingham Police Department on cases involving Laue, as well as multiple other officers with both agencies."