More than 80 offenders at the Westville Correctional Facility have now tested positive for COVID-19. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box shared the statistics during Thursday’s COVID-19 briefing.
Continue readingAn inmate at the Westville Correctional Facility has died from COVID-19. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box announced the death during state officials’ COVID-19 briefing Tuesday.
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Governor Eric Holcomb says he doesn’t support the idea of releasing low-level offenders from the Department of Correction to protect them from COVID-19. “We’ve got our offenders in a safe place, we believe, maybe even safer than just letting them out, to avoid contracting this COVID-19,” Holcomb said during state officials’ COVID-19 press conference Monday.
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Almost 140 grams of synthetic marijuana was reportedly found hidden in the Westville Correctional Facility. The Indiana Department of Correction says Lead Captain Joseph Farley found the contraband in one of the facility’s common areas Friday. A total of 139.9 grams of K2 and 4.7 grams of tobacco were reportedly located.
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A Knox woman found to be in possession of 57 grams of meth was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Thursday. Annemarie Armes, 48, was in a vehicle that was pulled over by police on June 4, 2018, when a police K9 reportedly alerted to the presence of methamphetamine.
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A Starke County man has been sentenced to 12 years after pleading guilty to dealing methamphetamine. Mitchell Platz admitted in Starke Circuit Court Thursday that he sold meth to a friend in two separate transactions within the span of a few hours in August of 2018.
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An officer at the Westville Correctional Facility has been arrested on suspicion of trying to traffic drugs. The Indiana Department of Correction says Correctional Officer Dennis Cousins, 27, of Hammond, is accused of trying to bring drugs into the facility when coming on shift Friday. The investigation reportedly turned up what officers suspect to be Suboxone, a prescription drug used to treat people who are dependent on opioids.
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The man accused of killing 75-year-old Randall Bailey before leading police on a pursuit on Thanksgiving Day made his initial court appearance Wednesday. James Lee Campbell, 52, is charged with murder and resisting law enforcement, along with a firearm sentencing enhancement for the murder charge.
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The Pulaski County Commissioners are voicing their continued support for a pretrial release grant. They signed a letter of support for the grant funding on Monday, at the request of Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher.
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A LaPorte woman was arrested Monday, after she allegedly tried to bring suspected synthetic marijuana into the Westville Correctional Facility during visitation. The Indiana Department of Correction says Ashlee Bowman, 27, was taken to the LaPorte County Jail, pending a Level 5 felony charge of trafficking with an offender.
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A Kosciusko County woman was arrested for allegedly trying to bring drugs into the Westville Correctional Facility over the weekend. Investigators with the Indiana Department of Correction believe Rita Sellers, 46, of Silver Lake, was attempting to traffic drugs while visiting an offender on Saturday. The investigation turned up what officers suspect to be Suboxone, a prescription drug used to treat people who are dependent on opioids.
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An inmate has apparently walked away from the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
Prison officials reportedly discovered that Travis Hornett, 39, of Waterloo, was missing from his outside work detail at the prison’s low-security housing unit around 11:00 Wednesday morning, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.
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Pulaski County officials say they’ve figured out a way to cover inmate housing fees using money that’s already in the budget.
Continue readingJail inmates’ behavioral issues have led to some extra costs for Pulaski County. Sheriff Jeff Richwine told the county council last week that he’s sent two inmates to the Indiana Department of Correction, since the county jail staff is no longer able to handle them.
Continue readingPulaski County’s pretrial release program is seeking funding for another year. During last week’s joint county council and commissioners meeting, the commissioners agreed to let program officials apply for a renewal of the program’s 1006 grant from the Indiana Department of Correction.
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Pulaski County is moving ahead with funding requests for its new veterans court and jail treatment programs. Last week, the county commissioners agreed to let Dr. Natalie Daily-Federer and Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher apply for a 1006 grant through the Indiana Department of Correction.
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Some of Pulaski County’s old jail uniforms will soon be going to Starke County. The Pulaski County Commissioners agreed to let Sheriff Jeff Richwine move ahead with the sale last week. “They want them, and we would just throw them away,” Richwine said.
Pulaski County’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative is seeking funding for another year. The county commissioners Monday agreed to let JDAI Coordinator Natalie Federer proceed with her regular grant application.
An Indiana Department of Correction training officer was arrested Wednesday for allegedly dealing methamphetamine. Chad Dickson, 40, of Hamlet, was at the center of an investigation led by the Starke County and Marshall County Undercover Narcotics Investigation Team, according to Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin.
A man found guilty of child molesting has had his convictions affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals. Back in February, Jerry Leonard was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court to concurrent terms of 30 years in the Indiana Department of Correction with 10 years suspended, for two Class A felony counts of child molesting. Leonard appealed the convictions, arguing that his confession to police was not made voluntarily and “that the trial court abused its discretion” by admitting video of the police interview as evidence.
