The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office is investigating with lawyers from https://gideonasen.com/, on a Tuesday injury crash that took place near the Starke County line on State Road 39. It happened around 4:30 p.m., according to a news release. Continue reading
The Winamac man accused of fatally stabbing his wife at their home Sunday night is out of the hospital and in jail. Officials in Pulaski County say Michael Kasten Sr., 59, was booked into the Pulaski County Jail at 4:45 p.m. yesterday. Continue reading
A Winamac man who is charged with murder in Sunday’s stabbing death of his wife apparently tried to kill himself as well. Michael Kasten Sr., 59, is accused of stabbing his wife, Tina Kasten, 58, in the chest with a steak knife at their home on State Road 119. A friend who lived with the couple called 911, according to the police report. Officers found Tina Kasten on a loveseat in the living room of the home with a chest wound and her husband in the garage covered in blood with a steak knife nearby. He reportedly told officers he stabbed himself and said repeatedly he wanted to die. Continue reading
The Pulaski County Commissioners approved an ordinance for the retention of issued duty weapons and issuance of retired identification for certain retired sheriff’s personnel.
The ordinance states that the commissioners may transfer county property valued at$1,000 or less without advertising the transfer or request bids. Pulaski County Sheriff Jeff Richwine believes it appropriate to allow an officer who is a retiring county merit deputy or sheriff in good standing to have one of their firearms as recognition of service to the county. That officer or sheriff must have served honorably as a merit officer of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office for a minimum of 20 years. The ordinance affects sheriff’s office personnel who have retired after Dec. 1, 2014.
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s office will host a trick or treat event tomorrow night. A contest with prizes for the top three costumes will be offered. Continue reading
A report of a possible murder victim stashed underneath a trailer north of Winamac turned out to be a false alarm after the person was found safe in Starke County. Yesterday morning two men went to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, told officials there they had spent the night at the trailer, and people in the house had discussed the murder. Continue reading
The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of a truck from a property west of Winamac. A bronze 1994 three-quarter ton Chevrolet truck was stolen from the area of State Road 14 and 400 West sometime between 3 and 4 a.m. Monday, according to a news release. The truck has tube step sides, a sticker on the tailgate that reads “Get Hooked on Fishing, Not Drugs” and a Bass Master sticker in the window. The truck’s license plate number is TK181MCC. If you see the truck, call the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office at 574-946-3341 or contact the closest law enforcement agency.
A Knox woman wound up in the Pulaski County Jail Sunday night after driving off a rural Pulaski County road into a field. The sheriff’s office got a call around 5:30 p.m. of a red Buick in a field near 1450 West and 100 North. The caller was concerned because neither of the people in the car were moving. The deputy who came out to investigate ended up arresting Christene Shepherd, 40, of Knox for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia. Neither she nor her passenger were injured.
A passenger in a car that was stopped for speeding early Sunday morning on U.S. 421 at 300 South in Pulaski County is wanted in LaPorte County and now faces charges in Pulaski County as well. Manuel Cooper, Jr., 23, of Bauxite, Ark. was picked up on a theft warrant from LaPorte County. Officers at the Pulaski County Jail discovered he was in possession of a Schedule II controlled substance without a prescription. Formal charges are pending. He’s still in the Pulaski County Jail.
Deputies from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a head-on collision that occurred on 421 near the White County line around 3:30 Sunday morning. A 2007 Infiniti driven by Louis Ramiro of Monon was northbound, apparently swerved left of center and hit a 2008 Dodge driven by Phillip D. Carlson, 49, of Francesville. Carlson and his wife, Lori, 47, both refused treatment at the scene. Ramiro cut his head and was taken to the Jasper County Hospital for treatment. It’s uncertain at this time whether he was driving under the influence.
A fugitive wanted by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office turned herself in last night after being featured on a wanted poster on the department’s Facebook page. Lisa L. Wilson, 27, was wanted for failure to appear, never a valid license and failure to sign, carry, display registration. Her photo and information were posted on the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Indiana Facebook page on Thursday, March 13 and shared 14 times. Continue reading
A Winamac woman is alive this morning thanks to the quick response from a Winamac Police Officer on patrol. Mark Hoffman was southbound on U.S. 35 just before midnight last night and saw a vehicle on fire near County Road 50 East. Hoffman called the Pulaski County Dispatch Center and requested fire and EMS assistance and approached the SUV, where he saw an unconscious woman inside. Continue reading
Three Medaryville Volunteer Firefighters were taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries after their truck hit a patch of black ice Saturday morning on County Road 175 North just west of County Road 1400 West, struck a NIPSCO pole and came to a stop in a field. They were responding to a report of an INDOT snow plow truck that had caught fire on northbound State Road 39 just south of County Road 200 North. Plow driver Jimmy Collins, 26, of Winamac, came upon a large snow drift as he was heading north, and his plow got stuck. Collins got out of the truck to get a tow chain and saw that the rear tandems were on fire. The small fire extinguisher in the cab of the truck was no match for the high wind that was fanning the flames. The plow truck was a total loss, according to the accident report from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. The fire truck sustained repairable damage.
A Winamac man was taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital by ambulance after being involved in a Saturday morning rollover wreck northwest of Winamac. A deputy from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office discovered the crash on County Road 200 North just west of County Road 450 West around 11:30 a.m. Lisa Vonville, 45, of Winamac, reportedly hit a patch of black ice and lost control of her 2005 Buick Rainer sport utility vehicle. It rolled over at least once before landing upright in a field, according to the crash report. Charles Vonville, 59, was a passenger in the truck. He complained of pain in his knee, lower leg, foot and head.
The man authorities say robbed the First National Bank of Monterey at gunpoint Monday afternoon and his alleged female accomplice are jailed in Pulaski County. Scott Randall Freeman, 34, and his girlfriend, Michelle Marie Riley, 29, both of rural Winamac, were arrested last night, according to Pulaski County Sheriff Mike Gayer. Officers from the Pulaski, Starke, Marshall and Fulton County Sheriff’s Departments and the Indiana State Police responded to the 1:30 p.m. call. Witnesses told them the gunman was wearing a maroon ski mask and a Carhart jacket when he entered the bank brandishing a long-barreled revolver and demanding cash. He fled north in a silver Chevrolet Impala without a license plate, according to witnesses. Investigators gathered statements and used surveillance recordings to identify the suspects. Formal charges are pending.
A Winamac man who reportedly tried to hide in a closet in order to avoid a trip to jail is behind bars on a $35,000 bond. An officer from the Winamac Police Department responded to a tip that Keith L. Campbell, 44, of Winamac, was at an apartment on Franklin Street last night. Campbell was wanted on two counts of forgery as a C felony. Continue reading
An hour-long standoff between police and a wanted man outside a home in Born’s Trailer Park east of North Judson ended peacefully this afternoon. Detective Kenny Pfost with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office says officers tried to serve warrants on Shannon Watts for probation and parole violations. Pfost adds officers were told there were weapons inside the residence. Watts refused to come out of the trailer, so the officer who initially responded requested assistance from the SWAT team. Pfost says six officers surrounded the trailer while other members staged at the rest park on State Road 10 at county road 250 West. Continue reading
The Francesville man accused of shooting his wife in the arm during an argument late Thursday night is charged with criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon resulting in serious bodily injury. That’s the official charge filed against Barry Danford, 50, by Pulaski County Prosecutor Stacey Mrak. The injury to Rhonda Danford, 55, was not life threatening, and she was treated at Pulaski Memorial Hospital. Barry Danford left the scene of the shooting before the police arrived. Members of the SWAT team fanned out across the area in search of him but were unsuccessful in tracking him down. Danford surrendered Saturday afternoon at the Pulaski County Justice Center and was booked into the jail just after 4 p.m. The charge is a C felony, which is punishable by up to eight years in prison.
The suspect in Thursday’s late night shooting at a Francesville residence surrendered Saturday afternoon at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. Barry Danford, 50, of Francesville, was booked into the jail just after 4 p.m. He reportedly shot his wife, Rhonda Danford, 55, in the arm during an argument. She called the police, but her husband left before they showed up. Rhonda Danford’s injury was not life-threatening, and she was taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, SWAT team members fanned out across the area in search of Barry Danford but were unsuccessful in tracking him down. Charges are pending.
