Two people were present for their sentencing hearings last week in the Starke Circuit Court after they were arrested at the Super Value Inn by police who had been executing an arrest warrant and stumbled upon a hotel room housing a methamphetamine lab operation.
A Knox man received his sentence in the Starke Circuit Court this week after he pleaded guilty to Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class B felony and two counts of Neglect of a Dependent, Class C felonies.
Police arrested 35-year-old Gregory Tolson on Oct. 2 after an investigation over the course of several months. Police executed a search warrant at the home and found methamphetamine, several precursors, paraphernalia, and several methamphetamine labs, as well as two young children in the home near the toxic fumes. Tolson was arrested alongside Cherie Tolson and Nathan Vermilyer who faced similar charges, and the Indiana Department of Child Services arrived on the scene took possession of the two children.
Tolson was sentenced to 14 years in the Department of Corrections with two years suspended.
There have been no major developments in the case against a former Knox High School teacher accused of fathering a child with a former student. The Knox Community School Board initially suspended Boldry with pay on Aug. 24 and has since been suspended without pay. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said earlier that substitute teachers will fill the position until the outcome of the investigation is determined.
A South Bend man was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court this week.
Jason Brooks pleaded guilty to a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony, in a plea agreement with the State.
A Starke County man was arrested recently amidst allegations that he invited a child to engage in inappropriate physical contact.
Rodney Freet, Jr. is accused of Child Solicitation after a juvenile girl told her father that Freet had invited her to engage in the inappropriate conduct.
Vincent Rossetti pleaded guilty to two causes in the Starke Circuit Court this week. Rossetti pleaded guilty to Habitual Traffic Violator as a Class D felony and was sentenced to 18 months in the Department of Corrections with none suspended, and his driver’s license was suspended for two years.
A man convicted in 2008 for forging multiple checks from the North Judson-San Pierre Band Boosters was sentenced last week in Starke Circuit Court for violating his probation. Joseph Rojas, Jr. was convicted and sentenced to 12 years in the Department of Corrections with six years suspended. He was recently released to probation under the condition that he make his monthly restitution payments.
Unfortunately for Rojas, he failed to pay his restitution, the total for which was $14,850 and he missed a number of probation appointments as well.
A 43-year-old Starke County man has been sentenced after being found guilty on three counts of Child Molesting as a Class A felony.
Special Judge John M. Marnocha from St. Joseph Superior Court sentenced Steven L. O’Bryant in Starke Circuit Court yesterday to serve 150 years in prison. O’Bryant was found guilty of the charges after a jury trial in his case in early November. A dozen witnesses were called to the stand, including ten from the state and two from the defense. The jury took less than two hours to find that he was guilty of molesting a juvenile while he stayed at that juvenile’s Starke County residence over the course of two months from March 30 to May 30.
Three initial hearings were heard in the Starke Circuit Court this week for men accused of a variety of crimes, including Dealing in Cocaine, Domestic Battery, and various Possession Charges.
Matthew Norem pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him, including Dealing in Cocaine or a Narcotic as a Class A felony and Trafficking with an Inmate as a Class C felony. Norem is accused of knowingly possessing at least three grams of heroin in his underwear at the Starke County Jail when he was arrested in December.
A Starke County man was sentenced to 13 years in the Department of Corrections for manufacturing methamphetamine at the Super Value Inn in Knox. According to the criminal information filed in the court, Lolus Johnson was charged with Theft and Possession of a Controlled Substance as Class D felonies and Possession of Marijuana as a Class A misdemeanor on March 30 after he stole shoes from Dollar General and was arrested. Police then found oxycodone, a controlled substance, on his person along with marijuana.
After 20 minutes of deliberation, the jury in the Starke Circuit Court trial against Alan Balchunas of Monterey reached a verdict of not guilty of Domestic Battery and Strangulation. Balchunas was accused of choking and beating his ex-wife, Pamela Balchunas, following an argument that led to a physical altercation.
During the course of the trial, Pamela testified that Balchunas had put her into a headlock and beat the left side of her face and head. She said he then put his hands around her throat and started to choke her, so she reached for a baseball bat to fend him off. After hitting him twice in the head, Balchunas stumbled back and she said she then left the home.
Several offenders appeared for initial hearings before Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall Wednesday afternoon.
William Lamphier pleaded not guilty to charges of Burglary as a Class C Felony and Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D Felony. Lamphier, of Walkerton, was arrested on Nov. 27 after he allegedly broke into a home in North Liberty and stole tools, a gas can, a weedeater and other items.
Alan Balchunas of Monterey is on trial this week facing charges of Domestic Battery and Strangulation. He allegedly battered and strangled his ex-wife Pamela Balchunas at her home in Monterey.
Pamela Balchunas testified yesterday that she and Alan Balchunas had an argument about rounding up extension cords to run from the house to her sister’s home that had electricity. The area had been suffering from a power outage after a severe storm and while her sister had power, she did not. She stated that she had asked Balchunas for help and he refused. An argument ensued and he reportedly barged into the home, put her into a headlock and beat the left side of her face and head. The struggle started in the kitchen and continued into the living room. She testified that he then put his hands around her throat and started to choke her. She said she couldn’t breathe and her eyesight was failing, but she knew the baseball bat was by the front door she reached for the bat and hit him in the head with it. His grip reportedly got tighter and she hit him again. The second blow caused him to stumble back into a chair and started bleeding. She then left the residence and went to her mother’s house.
A trial is set in the Starke Circuit Court this morning at 9 a.m. for a man accused of battering his ex-wife in front of their two children, ages six and seven. Alan Balchunas was arrested on July 1 on charges of Domestic Battery, Strangulation, Battery, and Possession of Marijuana after he allegedly choked and shoved his ex-wife during an altercation concerning the conditions of their home.
It was an emotional day in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday as Judge Kim Hall finalized four adoptions in an historical moment before the public and the media. For the first time in the history of the Starke County Courthouse, Chief Justice Brent Dickson signed a rare order authorizing the adoption proceedings to not only be open to the public, but also to be televised and recorded by the media. Only three counties in Indiana were given this order.
In honor of National Adoption Awareness Month and the increasing need for adoptive families, the four adoption hearings were held before a packed courtroom with several guest speakers, including Rhonda Adcock, the director of Starke County CASA, who spoke about how important adoption is.
Today is a special day for four families in Starke County as Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall will be finalizing adoptions for those families.
A ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. CT today when the public is invited to listen to several speakers concerning adoptions. At 1:30 p.m., the adoption hearings will begin. WKVI will be there to witness the adoptions as the Indiana Supreme Court has allowed the proceedings to be covered by the media when they are usually closed to the public.
After a three-day trial, Steven O’Bryant was found guilty Friday of three counts of Child Molesting as a Class A felony and not guilty of one count of the same.
The jury deliberated for less than 2 hours, having left at 1:04 p.m. and returned at 2:55 p.m. after asking only one question.
Opening statements were heard today in the trial against Steven O’Bryant, a man accused of sexually molesting a juvenile while staying at the juvenile’s parents’ Starke County residence over the course of two months from March 30 to May 30. He pleaded not guilty to the four charges of Child Molestation against him.
A man charged with child molestation is on trial in Starke Circuit Court this week.
Forty-three-year-old Steven L. O’Bryant is accused of molesting a juvenile while he stayed at that juvenile’s Starke County residence over the course of two months from March 30 to May 30. He pleaded not guilty to the charge in a previous court setting.
The initial hearing for a woman accused of trying to smuggle contraband into the Starke County Jail was held last week in the Starke Circuit Court.
Lindsey Dennis pleaded not guilty to a charge of Attempting Trafficking With an Inmate as a Class C felony and denied allegations that she had helped to hide a controlled substance inside a deodorant container to smuggle into the jail.
