// a href = ./ //

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A newly freed Illinois prison inmate is back behind bars, now accused of fatally beating a teenage honor student in southwestern Illinois nearly a quarter century ago.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that St. Clair County prosecutors in southwestern Illinois have charged 51 year old Carlos Garrett with first-degree murder in the death of Nicole Willis. Her partly clothed body was found near her Centreville home.

It's not immediately clear what prompted the murder counts against Garrett.

Until Monday, Garrett had been serving a six year prison term on a Montgomery County drug-distribution conviction.

Garrett remained jailed yesterday in Belleville on $1 million bond.

Online court records do not show whether he has an attorney.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A prison watchdog says the need for inmate space in Illinois is "trumping security" as officials announced they plan to set up temporary bed space in a half-dozen mostly medium-security prisons.

The change was announced yesterday in a letter from the Department of Corrections to the main employee union.

John Maki of the prison observer John Howard Association says the six prisons targeted - in Centralia, Danville, Hillsboro, Canton, Vienna and Vandalia - are among the state's most crowded.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees says the planned closure of the Dwight prison is forcing the move.

Corrections spokeswoman Stacey Solano says prison gymnasiums will be used temporarily for minimum-security inmates. She would not comment specifically on the reason for the move.

A small town police chief is now unemployed, and he says it's because he criticized the Montgomery County prosecutor's handling of a burglar investigation. Mike Bland was fired from his post with the Bellflower, Missouri Police Department.

Bland's firing notice indicates that he was terminated for failing to get permission from city officials prior to an interview with Fox 2 News.

Bland told Fox 2 he had permission from the Mayor of Bellflower and he has the phone records to prove it. "There was numerous calls made between her and I about this exact case," Bland said. "And not only that, witnesses to the phone call itself."

Bland had criticized county prosecutors for failing to charge three burglary suspects who had confessed to the crimes.

In a statement Montgomery County’s Prosecuting Attorney said there had not been sufficient documentation to file criminal charges.