The Starke County Traffic Safety Partnership will be conducting a Safe Family Travel patrol beginning this Friday and it will continue through November 27th.
This blitz is a grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and will focus on impaired drivers and seat belt enforcement. This grant will allow additional officers to enforce these laws and they will not be giving out warnings. They will be issuing tickets to those who are in violation of these laws.
Winamac teenager was arrested by North Judson police after reportedly charging items on a credit card without the owner’s knowledge.
Nick Rudd, 18, allegedly took a credit card belonging to James Dolezal from his unlocked pick-up truck and bought items from gas stations and eateries that totaled approximately $158.00 from purchases made over a two-day period. Rudd told officers that he was given that card to use.
The Starke County Traffic Safety Partnership will be conducting a Safe Family Travel patrol November 11th through November 27th.
This blitz is a grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and will focus on impaired drivers and seat belt enforcement.
Larry Clemons, of North Judson, was arrested on drug charges on Monday evening.
North Judson police officers, along with the officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, were called to Judson Express after they received a call that a wanted person was at the business. The person whom they were looking for was not there, but they spotted Larry Clemons who was wanted on a Starke Circuit Court warrant. Officers conducted a search of his person and allegedly found him to be in possession of drugs.
North Judson Police Chief, Doug Vessely, announced the hire of a new officer at the recent Town Board meeting where he was introduced to the Board members.
Officer Frank Thomas attended the 193rd class at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield and graduated on Friday, September 30th. The course is 600 hours and includes academics, emergency vehicle operations, physical tactics, vehicle S.T.O.P.S. crash investigation, criminal investigations, patrol techniques, report writing, and standardized field sobriety training. Vessely stated that Officer Thomas passed every aspect of the training including firearms training where he qualified as an “expert”. He finished training with a 93.3 academic average.
Two people have been arrested in connection with burglaries at two downtown businesses in North Judson.
North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely said that 16 cases of beer and several bottles of liquor were taken from Grand Central Station and a set of Wilson golf clubs and a bag were taken from Rosa’s Resale Shop. After an investigation, officers recovered the stolen property from a residence in the 300 block of Main Street.
A Starke County prisoner is back in the Starke County Jail after escaping from Community Corrections home monitoring. Darwin Barnett was being tethered by an ankle bracelet which he removed August 19th.
After a 24 hour AWOL period, Community Corrections filed an escape notice with the Prosecutor and law enforcement. He was captured by North Judson Police and returned to jail on Wednesday, August 24th.
The Knox City Police Department had 483 calls in the month of July, responded to six accidents and officers completed 31 incident reports.
There were 4 Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated arrests, 3 Public Intoxication arrests, 3 Battery arrests, 2 warrant arrests, 16 people arrested on 18 traffic charges, 25 people arrested on 36 criminal charges and 2 juveniles arrested on 2 charges. Continue reading
The North Judson Police Department has been receiving complaints of residents driving golf carts in town and not abiding by the traffic laws. Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, wants to remind you that the operation of golf carts within town limits is against the law. Anyone who is found driving a golf cart will be given an ordinance ticket. Officers will uphold state law that prohibits golf carts.
North Judson Town Marshal Doug Vessely reports that the North Judson Police Department received 361 incident calls in the month of June. There were 44 citizen assist calls, 71 traffic stops, 9 animal control calls, 20 theft-conversion calls, 21 juvenile-family disturbance calls, 12 mischief-vandalism calls, and 8 assaults, battery and/or fighting calls.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Hamlet Police Department, Knox City Police Department and the North Judson Police Department will be participating in an Operation Pull Over Blitz that begins today and goes through June 5th. Officers will be on extra patrols to conduct a campaign on seat belt safety.
This enforcement period is designed to save lives and the officers encourage all occupants in a vehicle to wear their seat belts. Anyone not wearing their seat belt when stopped by police will receive a ticket. 250 other police agencies throughout the state will be focusing on this seat belt enforcement. Officers will also be watching for drivers who follow too closely, make unsafe lane changes, drive aggressively, fail to properly restrain children in child seats, and operate a vehicle while impaired.
North Judson Police Chief, Doug Vessely, told the North Judson Town Board this week that a recent search warrant conducted at the scrap yard in Knox by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Knox City Police Department and the North Judson Police Department may have uncovered stolen property from the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson. Museum staff had reported joint bars stolen plus other items worth thousands of dollars. The incident remains under investigation.
Knox City Police Chief, Clint Norem, says the Department handled 396 calls in the month of April, investigated 6 accidents and filed 36 incident reports.
19 people were arrested on 24 traffic charges, 50 people were arrested on 66 criminal charges and 2 people were cited for 2 ordinance violations. There were 7 battery arrests, 10 warrant arrests and 11 drug arrests made in April.
The Starke County Traffic Safety Partnership will be conducting a Rural Demonstration Project beginning Friday, April 29th through Sunday, May 15th. This is a special grant to be used for truck seatbelt enforcement.
During the Traffic Safety Partnership’s last enforcement blitz, 10 officers spent 41 hours on increased traffic patrol. 4 seat belt citations were given, 1 misdemeanor DUI arrest was made, 1 criminal misdemeanor arrest was made, 1 criminal felony arrest was made and 14 speed violations were recorded. 47 traffic warnings were issued with a total of 65 vehicles being stopped. The enforcement ran from February 26th through March 4th.
The North Judson Police Department investigated vandalism and damage to property at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum.
On Wednesday, April 6th, officer Dennis Fornelli located three juvenile males on the grounds of the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, in and around the train cars. After a short time, the three were picked up and transported to their respective parents. The following morning, the volunteers at the Museum reported to officer Joe Budner that several train cars, the building, and equipment had been vandalized and damaged. Many windows were broken out as well. Police returned and conducted interviews with the three juveniles and learned they had done the damage. A complete investigative report was furnished to the Starke County Probation Department and the Prosecutor’s Office requesting charges and restitution from the juveniles.
The North Judson Police Department responded to a break-in at Ray’s Super Foods on Lane Street on Friday around 4:50 a.m.
According to North Judson Police Chief, Doug Vessely, a back entry door appeared to have been pried open and a front window was broken out. Unknown subject(s) entered the business taking both cash and merchandise with several tobacco products being taken as well. It is believed the burglar(s) made entry between 3:00 and 4:20 a.m. Police have few leads and are asking for the public’s help by encouraging people who might have any information regarding this incident to call the North Judson Police at (574) 772-5914 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-342- STOP or 1-574-288- STOP.
Chief Vessely reminds residents that if you call Crime Stoppers you don’t have to leave your name and they do not have caller ID.
An 18-year-old San Pierre man was arrested Wednesday night on preliminary charges of Armed Robbery and Felony Intimidation.
North Judson Police Chief, Doug Vessely, said that just after 8:30 p.m. CT, Johnathan Chambers, wearing a rubber mask and a camouflage jacket, entered the Carpenter’s Marathon Oil Station in North Judson with a knife and demanded cash from the gas station clerk. After he was unsuccessful in getting cash, Chambers was scared off and fled the area on foot.
Beginning Friday, March 4th, troopers from the Indiana State Police will join more than 250 other Indiana law enforcement agencies across the Hoosier State in the Over the Limit, Under Arrest March crackdown on impaired and dangerous driving.
It was a scene reminiscent of an old time western movie. Police from throughout the County and State rounded up 76 individuals involved in “cock fighting”. The arrests were made on Saturday morning at 0480 North 100 West in Starke County.
Law enforcement officers were responding to an anonymous tip.
“The Sheriff’s Department received an anonymous tip of animal fighting contests out at a residence on 100 West,” stated Starke County Chief Deputy, Bill Dulin. “Along with the Sheriff’s Department, we responded with the Indiana Conservation Units, State Police, Knox City Police, and North Judson units. When we got there, we noticed 10 or 15 vehicles and when we approached, 50 to 60 people took off running toward a river in an open field.”
North Judson Town Marshal, Doug Vessely, reports that in the month of January, the Department received 17 citizen assist calls, conducted 35 traffic stops, responded to 6 theft-conversion calls, 3 accidents, 11 juvenile-family disturbance calls and 2 assault calls.
Officers completed 3 battery reports, 4 theft-conversion reports, and 1 alcohol-drug report. In addition, the officers gave 13 ordinance tickets, 11 traffic warnings and made 6 adult arrests.
