A Hamlet man was killed instantly after the vehicle he was driving collided with a semi truck on U.S. 30 at Frontage Road in Hamlet late Monday morning. Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells says Lawrence Siegel, 72, died of massive blunt force trauma including head, neck, chest and internal injuries. Continue reading
A tractor-trailer versus car crash on U.S. 30 in Hamlet late this morning claimed a life. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police and Hamlet Police Department are investigating the wreck. Continue reading
The Knox City Police Department is working with Hamlet Police Chief Frank Lonigro in introducing a new app to school corporations for emergency purposes.
Chief Clint Norem told the Knox Board of Public Works members Wednesday morning that Chief Lonigro learned about this app in training and both of them are finding out more information on how to provide the app to the schools that will allow teachers to hit a panic button on their smart phone if there happens to be an emergency.
A suspect in several burglaries, thefts and auto thefts in Marshall County and in St. Joseph County was taken into custody in Starke County Monday morning.
According to Hamlet police, officers were dispatched to 504 North Starke St. Lot 14 after receiving information about a stolen 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. Upon arrival, a Hamlet officer noticed another vehicle in the area which wasn’t recognized as belonging to any residents in the neighborhood. After further investigation, it was identified as a stolen vehicle from Marshall County.
A two-vehicle wreck just before 11 a.m. on U.S. 35 just south of U.S. 30 sent the driver of one of the cars to the hospital. According to witnesses, the driver of the green Pontiac Sunfire did not stop when she came off the ramp from U.S. 30 onto U.S. 35. Her car hit the left side of a Chrysler Town and Country minivan owned by Braman and Son Memorial Chapel. It was northbound on 35 when the crash occurred. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Hamlet Police Department and Indiana State Police all responded. The driver of the Pontiac was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital by ambulance. There’s no word yet on the extent of her injuries or her name.
Another arrest has been made in a trailer fire investigation in Hamlet.
North Judson officers brought in Heather Mann on Monday, April 14 to question her about the Tuesday, April 8 trailer fire at 504 North Starke Street, lot 10 in Hamlet. Firefighters reportedly found a meth lab in the smoldering debris.
After the interview conducted by Hamlet police officers she was placed into custody and booked into the Starke County Jail. She was arrested on preliminary charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of two or more precursors with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, and visiting a common nuisance.
An investigator from the state fire marshal’s office has been called in to determine the origin and cause of a Tuesday morning fire in the Hamlet trailer court. The Hamlet Fire Department was dispatched to 504 North Starke Street, Lot 10, at 12:34 a.m. Fire Chief Bob Goetz tells WKVI news no injuries were reported. The Koontz Lake Fire Department assisted. Dispatchers advise the fire department left at 2:18 a.m. and turned the scene over to the Hamlet Police Department until the fire marshal arrived.
According to Hamlet Town Marshal Frank Lonigro, at 9 p.m. CT on Monday, officers executed the search warrant at 302 Davis St. where they reportedly found methamphetamine-related products. The Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team was called to clean up the scene and remove the evidence.
Officers from the Hamlet Police Department investigated a theft call that occurred at a residence on Pearl Street on Tuesday, Dec. 10. As a result of the investigation, a search warrant was granted and officers from the Hamlet Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department executed that search warrant at 7871 N. Clover Lane in Koontz Lake.
The first report came in on Nov. 21 where a man walking a large dog in the area of Hamlet and Pearl Streets attempted to get into parked vehicles. The man was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. Officers were not able to locate the suspect when they arrived at the scene.
An investigation was conducted by the Indiana Department of Child Services and on Aug. 15, officers from the Knox and Hamlet Police Departments executed a search warrant at 408 W. Davis St. in Hamlet.
Lonzo Jackson Jr., 21, was taken into custody at that time in a cooperative effort between the Knox and Hamlet Police Department. Jackson is being held on preliminary charges of Child Molesting, a Class C felony and Child Solicitation, a Class D felony.
A three-month investigation led to the arrest of three people in Hamlet on Monday.
Officers from the Hamlet Police Department, with the assistance of the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, executed a search warrant at 7733 N. Kickapoo in Walkerton where they found items from multiple burglaries that occurred in Hamlet.
A Hamlet man was arrested without incident at his Pearl Street home Sunday night after police there executed a search warrant and found a meth lab. The Hamlet Police Department obtained a warrant for Corbyn Gayheart’s home after an eight-month-long investigation. He’s facing charges of over-purchase of pseudoephedrine, manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine, possession of meth within 1,000 feet of a park and maintaining a common nuisance. The Indiana State Police Meth Lab Team was called in to assist with the cleanup.
Officers were conducting a drug activity call at a Hamlet residence and asked questions about a vehicle parked in the driveway. Nobody in the residence claimed ownership to the vehicle. Upon further investigation, the license plate numbers were ran and the plate did not match the vehicle. The VIN number was also covered up and wires were hanging from the broken steering column.
The first session will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT and the second session will be from 6:45-7:30 p.m. CT.
Hamlet Police are searching for three teenage boys they say jumped a 12-year-old boy who was riding his bicycle in the 500 Block of Pearl Street around 7 p.m. last night. The youngster was not seriously injured, according to chief deputy Kyle Hinds with the Hamlet Police Department. His attackers were boys between the ages of 15 and 18, two white and one Hispanic with long, black hair. They were driving an older model black Ford Mustang with a 4th grade Oregon-Davis baseball sticker in the back window. The vehicle fled the scene before police officers arrived. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the Hamlet Police Department at 574-867-2623. If anyone sees the black Mustang they are asked to call 911.
Officers from the Starke County Traffic Safety Partnership are pleased with the outcome of a Friday sobriety checkpoint. They stopped 40 vehicles in North Judson at the intersection of Talmer and Schricker Avenues as part of an Operation Pull Over Blitz.
