After nearly 12 hours of deliberation the jury in the arson trial of a Knox businessman was unable to reach a verdict. Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall declared a mistrial in State v. James Campbell at 12:14 a.m. due to the jury being an impasse and deadlocked. They began deliberations at 12:30 p.m. Continue reading
The fate of a Knox man accused of setting his businesses on fire will soon be in the hands of a jury. The defense in James Campbell’s arson trial rested at 4:16 p.m. Tuesday after calling three witnesses. The first, a former ATF agent turned fire investigation consultant, questioned whether the fire that destroyed Campbell’s Tire Barn, Starke County Recycling and C&C Salvage on U.S. 35 south of Toto Road last March was deliberately set. Mike Vergon has operated a private fire investigation practice in Indianapolis for the past two-and-a-half years. He visited the burned out business on June 23 and Oct. 2 of last year. Vergon testified burn patterns don’t help with origin and cause determinations with damage as extensive as what he saw and said it’s his opinion the cause cannot be determined without good witness corroboration. Continue reading
Video evidence introduced in the arson trial of a Knox businessman indicates he was the last person to leave the property and did so minutes before the first smoke was visible. James Campbell owns Starke County Recycling, Campbell’s Tire Barn and C&C Salvage on U.S. 35 south of Toto Road in Knox. The businesses caught fire just after 5 p.m. on March 20, 2014. Then-Chief Investigator Kenny Pfost from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department testified Campbell left the business at 4:59 p.m. and pulled into his driveway next door. He left his house at 5:02 p.m., and the first smoke was spotted on the video 40-seconds later. Video also indicates two employees left just before Campbell did. Continue reading
The final witnesses for the state are set to testify today in the arson trial of a Knox businessman. James Campbell is accused of setting fire to the buildings that housed his tire shop and recycling center at the corner of U.S. 35 and Toto Road last March. On Friday Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ryan indicated she plans to call three additional witnesses. The witnesses for the defense will testify tomorrow, and closing arguments are anticipated on Wednesday. Campbell is charged with arson as a Class A felony and faces between 20 and 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted. Continue reading
The arson trial of a Knox man whose business went up in flames a year ago yesterday will resume Monday morning. A pair of investigators from the state fire marshal’s office testified in James Campbell’s trial yesterday. They both took part in the investigation in the fire that destroyed the buildings Campbell owns at the intersection of U.S. 35 and Toto Road which were home to C&C Salvage, Starke County Recycling and Campbell’s Tire Barn and Shop. Both agree the fires were set and started in two areas of the shop. Continue reading
A fire investigator who looked into the cause an origin of the fire that destroyed a Knox business a year ago says it started in two separate spots. Larry Cooper was hired by the insurance company for Starke County Recycling, also known as C&C Salvage. Owner James Campbell is on trial for arson. Continue reading
The first firefighters to arrive at the scene of a blaze at a Knox business testified yesterday in the arson trial of its owner. James Campbell is accused of setting fire to his salvage yard and tire shop on U.S. 35 at Toto Road last March 20st. Barry Sanders from the Bass Lake Fire Department was the first to arrive. He showed up in his personal vehicle with his sons about five minutes after the notification went out. Sanders was recovering from shoulder surgery but still came out to assist. He testified his concern was for Campbell’s house, which is located just south of the salvage yard. Sanders said he knocked loudly on the doors and windows for several minutes until the heat drove him away, and nobody answered. Earlier witnesses testified Campbell was at the shop until around 5 p.m. Firefighters were notified at 5:17 p.m., according to dispatch records. Continue reading
The state will call more witnesses today in the arson trial of a Knox man accused of setting his business on fire. James Campbell owns C&C Salvage, also known as Starke County Recycling, at the intersection of U.S. 35 and Toto Road. The business caught fire last March 20, and Campbell was arrested eight days later on an arson charge. The state’s first witness was a mechanic named Tim Graves, who worked for Campbell for two weeks prior to the fire. He testified Campbell sent him out to get seven gallons of gas and a 50-foot extension cord about two hours before the fire started. Continue reading
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld a Knox man’s conviction on a drug charge from 2013. A jury found Alfred Higdon guilty of possession of methamphetamine as a Class D felony. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Higdon’s appeal claims the trial court erroneously admitted evidence that was the product of an illegal search by law enforcement. Continue reading
The first two witnesses for the state have testified in the arson trial of a Knox man accused of setting his business on fire. James Campbell owns C&C Salvage, also known as Starke County Recycling, at the intersection of U.S. 35 and Toto Road. The business caught fire last March 20, and Campbell was arrested eight days later on an arson charge. The state’s first witness was a mechanic named Tim Graves, who worked for Campbell for two weeks prior to the fire. He testified Campbell sent him out to get seven gallons of gas and a 50-foot extension cord about two hours before the fire started. Continue reading
A jury of eight men and six women will hear testimony in the C&C Salvage arson trial in Starke Circuit Court. Attorneys for the state and defendant James Campbell spent yesterday screening prospective jurors and finally settled on a panel of 12 with two alternates around 5:20 p.m. The scrap yard south of Knox at the intersection of U.S. 35 and Toto Road caught fire on March 20, 2014. Firefighters from eight local departments responded and spent several hours battling the blaze. One firefighter from the Bass Lake Fire Department was injured. Campbell owns the business. He was arrested eight days later on a charge of arson as a Class A felony. If convicted he faces between 20 and 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Continue reading
Almost a year after a set fire destroyed a Knox business the owner is scheduled to stand trial in Starke Circuit Court. James Campbell owns C&C Salvage on U.S. 35 just south of Toto Road. It caught fire on March 20. The Bass Lake, Knox-Center Township, Hamlet, Washington Township, Koontz Lake, North Judson-Wayne Township, San Pierre and Monterey Fire Departments all responded to the blaze and spent several hours getting it under control. One firefighter was injured. Black smoke was visible for miles, and a brigade of tanker trucks hauled water to the scene. Continue reading
Next month’s murder trial for a Knox man accused of killing his estranged wife at their rural California Township home last June is still on schedule. Gary Chavez is charged with murder, kidnapping and carjacking. Police say he beat his wife Kimberly to death on June 6, 2014, drove to Mark Bailey’s Discount Center and kidnapped an employee who was sitting in his car in the store parking lot. The two drove to English Lake where Chavez is accused of stealing another vehicle at gunpoint and leading authorities on a high-speed chase through LaPorte and Porter Counties. That vehicle broke down near Kouts, which is where Chavez allegedly stole a pickup truck at gunpoint from two men who stopped to help him. Police in Lake County deployed stop sticks on Interstate 65 near Crown Point in an attempt to end the pursuit. That’s when Chavez shot himself in the face. He spent two months in a Chicago hospital before being released to the custody of the Starke County Sheriff and has been jailed ever since. Continue reading
The mother of an infant who suffered frostbite after being left alone in a car after a Feb. 5 crash near North Judson made her initial appearance in Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Shayna Madison, 24, is charged with neglect of a dependent as a level 5 felony. Police responded to a wreck in the area of 250 West and 500 South. No driver was in the vehicle, but a small child was found in a car seat in the back. The child was treated at IU Health Starke Hospital and turned over to the Department of Child Services. Continue reading
Robert Corbin was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Thursday afternoon.
Corbin pleaded guilty to child seduction as a Class C felony in a previous court setting. Judge Kim Hall accepted the plea agreement that called for a seven-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Corrections. His sentence was broken into three components: 28 months will be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections, 28 months will be served on home detention with electronic monitoring and 28-months was suspended to be served on probation. By pleading guilty, all other counts against Corbin were dropped.
A woman accused of interfering with a custody exchange will spend the next 12 months on home detention through Starke County Community Corrections. Amy Lowe pleaded guilty to the felony offense this week in Starke Circuit Court. Judge Kim Hall sentenced her to 12 months in the Department of Correction with none of the time suspended. However, she will be allowed to serve it on home detention with electronic monitoring.
Jason Hansen was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Thursday morning.
Hansen was found guilty on a charge of Domestic Battery as a Class D felony in a trial held this week. He was sentenced to three years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended.
In April 2014, Hansen grabbed his wife by the hair and hit her head against the wall repeatedly in front of their juvenile children at the home they shared.
A verdict was returned late yesterday afternoon in a jury trial in Starke Circuit Court.
Jason Hansen was found guilty on a charge of domestic battery as a Class D felony and not guilty on a charge of criminal mischief.
Six jurors and an alternate heard testimony from seven witnesses provided by the State. The defense did not have any witnesses, and Hansen did not testify.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed a sentence handed down in Starke Circuit Court in 2014. Gregory Schweisthal was sentenced to 64 months in prison on a felony invasion of privacy and a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. Continue reading
Two offenders were sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Monday.
Sammie Marshall, 20, of Knox pleaded guilty in an agreement with the State to a charge of theft as a Class D felony. He admitted to stealing a Kindle Fire and several pieces of jewelry from a person with whom he was living. He then gave the items to another person.
