The trial against a Knox man who was arrested in January on allegations of attempted rape continues today in the Starke Circuit Court. Ryan Povilaitis is charged with numerous felonies and a misdemeanor after he allegedly attacked a woman at a residence they shared and tried to force himself upon her.
Officers were executing an arrest warrant at Watts’ residence in Born’s Trailer Park in North Judson on Tuesday, Aug. 13 and the Pulaski County SWAT Team was called into action when he refused to surrender. Continue reading
The Starke County sheriff’s candidate who is charged with impersonating a corrections officer is due back in Pulaski Superior Court this morning. Greg Wireman’s next appearance before Judge Patrick Blankenship is scheduled at 11:15 a.m. EDT. He entered a plea of not guilty during his initial appearance last month, and his attorney has filed a motion to dismiss all charges filed by Pulaski County Prosecutor Stacey Mrak after Starke County officials recused themselves. They stem from a Feb. 15 incident at Wireman’s aunt’s rural Starke County home. She called him because three door-to-door vacuum cleaner salespeople were being very pushy and wouldn’t leave her house. They claim Wireman detained them and told them he was a corrections officer.
Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff has formally charged Chapman, 48, with Criminal Recklessness as a Class C Felony and Resisting Law Enforcement as a Class D Felony.
Frank Esparza, Jr., 20, was sentenced on a charge of Dealing in a Narcotic Drug (Heroin), a Class A felony. Judge Kim Hall sentenced Esparza, Jr. to 30 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended. If he is placed in a therapeutic community while in prison and he successfully completes the program, he may petition the court to modify his sentence after he serves 20 years of his sentence. As part of the plea agreement, charges of Possession of a Narcotic Drug, Maintaining a Common Nuisance and Possession of a Syringe were dropped.
Randall Rowe, 36 of Hamlet, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state in a previous hearing to charges of Robbery as a Class B felony, Battery as a Class C felony and Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony. Ten other charges would be dismissed. He was to be sentenced on June 25 but it was continued to allow the state and defense to prepare arguments for the judge to make his decision as to whether the sentences on the counts should be consecutive or concurrent.
Allen Moore, 34 of Knox, admitted to Judge Kim Hall that he did possess a Schedule I Controlled Substance, heroin, when he was arrested on April 4 of this year. At first, he tried to deny that heroin was the controlled substance in his possession, but Judge Hall asked him a series of questions and he admitted that it was heroin in his possession.
Michael Wireman, 30 of Medaryville, was set to plead guilty in a plea agreement with the state, but he did not satisfy a portion of the terms of that agreement before the sentencing hearing. In the agreement, it stated that the defendant shall be evaluated with written notice of acceptance into the Starke County Community Corrections home detention program and he did not set up an appointment for evaluation.
Moses admitted that he received stolen tools and sold them at First Choice Pawn in Knox. He was arrested on March 29 for the crime. The tools were eventually returned so restitution was not requested in this case.
Amber Lain admitted to Judge Kim Hall that she was in a home in which she lived with Johnny Mullens that had an active methamphetamine lab, precursors and drug paraphernalia in the presence of her son at the time a search warrant was executed at that residence on March 1. She admitted that she purchased ingredients for the manufacture of methamphetamine but never participated in the actual cooking of the harmful drug. She stated that she was usually at work when the drug was made and her son was usually in the home when that activity occurred.
Patricia Vega had agreed to plead guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of Possession of a Legend Drug as a Class D felony. As part of the plea agreement, she would serve 24 months in the Department of Corrections with 12 months suspended to be served on home detention.
Smith had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony in two separate cases. He admitted to stealing a John Deere Gator, a compressor and a welder from a storage shed in Holland, Mich. and attempting to sell those items in Starke County. A potential buyer believed that the item he was about to purchase was stolen and called the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Smith was subsequently arrested. That occurred in January.
Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff stated that the agreement has yet to be reduced to writing and to be heard in a formal court setting. The proposed agreement would have Holt pleading guilty to a charge of Murder with a minimum sentence of 45 years and the maximum sentence of 55 years. As part of the plea agreement, she would be giving up her right to appeal the sentence.
Having pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to one count of Child Molesting as a Class B felony, 19-year-old Zackary Armentrout received his sentence in the Starke Circuit Court this afternoon. The plea agreement left the sentencing up to the court, and Judge Kim Hall heard a number of witnesses called by attorney David Geisler on behalf of Armentrout.
The first witness was the defendants mother, who told the court that the 13-year-old victim in the case “had a crush on” Armentrout and the two were seen together often. She said the defendant had moved out of her home to move in with friends because Armentrout wanted to drink alcohol and do other things that his mother would not let him to do. While there, the defendant admitted he had sex twice with the victim, who also lived at the residence.
A sentencing hearing in the case of Randall Rowe has been continued in Starke Circuit Court pending the research of case law brought up during Tuesday’s court hearing.
Randall Rowe, 36 of Hamlet, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state in a previous hearing to charges of Robbery as a Class B felony, Battery as a Class C felony and Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony. Ten other charges would be dismissed. He was to be sentenced Tuesday but it has been continued.
Randall Rowe was arrested Dec. 30, 2011, along with his brother, after they allegedly entered the home of Wade Berg in Hamlet where Berg was beaten on the head with a handgun. Berg’s hand was also allegedly beaten to the extent that the tip of his finger became detached. The pair also allegedly stole various items from Berg’s home. After the battery, Rowe reportedly forced Berg to drive to 1st Source Bank and withdraw approximately $800 in order to bail out Berg’s sister, who was Rowe’s girlfriend, from jail. Berg claims all of that was done at gunpoint which Rowe disputes.
At the time of his arrest, Rowe was arrested on 13 counts including an enhancement charge of Habitual Offender.
Wade Berg made a statement to Judge Kim Hall Tuesday about the circumstances of the incident and told of the fear that he would experience when Rowe gets out of prison. Berg stated that Rowe has threatened his family and is afraid of their safety as well as his own.
Rowe’s mother also stated that a hardship would be put on her as she has to care for Rowe’s daughter and doesn’t have the financial means to do so. Rowe stated that he is sorry for what happened that night and that Berg is confused on some things that happened during the incident.
In Tuesday’s hearing, Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff asked that Judge Kim Hall sentence Rowe to 20 years on the charge of Robbery, eight years on the charge of Battery and three years on the charge of Receiving Stolen Property with no time suspended. Those sentences would be served consecutively for a total of 31 years in the Department of Corrections. Defense Attorney Timothy Lemon cited many case laws that support the fact that each charge to what Rowe is pleading guilty are a single episode of conduct which call for concurrent sentences and not consecutive sentences.
With that information, Judge Hall ruled to continue the hearing so he and the state can review those case laws. If Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff has any case laws to give to the judge then those would be taken under consideration as well.
The sentencing hearing as been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 23 at 11:30 a.m. CT in Starke Circuit Court.
A Starke County man who was taken into custody following a pursuit incident spanning two counties received his initial hearing in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Julius Novitzke, who is currently held in the Starke County Jail on a $1 million bond, pleaded not guilty to charges of Resisting Law Enforcement, Receiving Stolen Property and Reckless Driving and requested a public defender due to his inability to pay for his own counsel.
Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall appointed attorney Timothy Lemon to Novitzke’s case due to the fact that Lemon is representing Novitzke in another case in the court. Novitzke will have to pay a $100 public defender fee to the clerk.
A man who admitted to having a lengthy drug abuse problem was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning.
Aaron Brewer, 23, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of Possession of a Narcotic Drug (Heroin) as a Class D felony. He was incarcerated on May 27 of this year after he violated the terms of home detention by abusing heroin. A charge of Residential Entry from another case was dismissed.
