A suit that took almost four years to wind its way through the court system was dismissed this week in Starke Circuit Court. Dennis Fornelli had brought suit against the City of Knox and the Knox City Police Department for wrongful discharge of duty from the police force in 2006.
The suit was dismissed on Monday, November 21st. It was originally filed on December 31st, of 2007.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall will be on the bench today, but it will not be on the third floor of the Starke County Courthouse. Judge Hall is taking his court on the road.
“We’re going to have court at Oregon-Davis High School,” said Judge Hall. “The reason for this is that for many years, Oregon-Davis would bring a bus load of Seniors to the Starke Circuit Court and watch the court proceedings and they always enjoyed that and it was always educational for them. For the last couple of years, for various reasons, they haven’t been able to get to the Courthouse. I’ve been talking with some teachers and we’ve decided that we’re going to bring court to the Oregon-Davis High School. I checked with the Supreme Court and the staff there was not aware of any other court in Indiana doing this, but they thought it was a good idea. This morning, we’re going to have the prosecutors, defense attorneys and the Sheriff there with some of the inmates and we’re going to have regular court.”
A Starke County jury found Fred Boggess II guilty of all five counts filed against him. The jury found him guilty of Dealing in Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors with the Intent to Manufacture, Driving While Suspended and False Informing.
The two-day trial had several witnesses called to the stand in Starke Circuit Court, including an Indiana State Police officer who specializes in Clandestine Lab Team investigations.
A jury of nine men and three women were seated yesterday in the trial of Fred Boggess II in Starke Circuit Court. The trial then began where the State called four witnesses. The fourth witness was an Indiana State Police Lab Team officer and he will resume with testimony this morning when the court convenes at 9:00 a.m.
Rose Martin, 47, of Medaryville made her appearance in Starke Circuit Court this week for charges of Manufacturing Methamphetamine, Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors.
There was some controversy in the courtroom when Martin told Judge Kim Hall that she submitted to a pre-sentence investigation over the phone and by mail rather than coming into the office, but there was no record of it being completed. Also, Martin said she had been accepted into the Community Corrections home detention program with electronic monitoring in LaPorte, but her case information indicated that she failed to make arrangements with Community Corrections.
After pleading guilty in September to Intimidation as a Class D felony, Carl Balaszek received his sentence before Judge Kim Hall in the Starke Circuit Court. Balaszek admitted to threatening the parents of his ex-girlfriend during what he describes as a “bad breakup” that has put his future in jeopardy. The victim submitted a letter to be read aloud in court, in which he stated that he was placed in fear of his life by Balaszek and was glad to see justice being served.
Brett Kersey appeared in Starke Circuit Court on Thursday. The state submitted a plea offer, but it was rejected by the defense. Kersey’s attorney, Richard Ballard, will be taking the case to trial. Kersey is charged with Child Molesting, Rape, and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. He faces a potential sentence of 20-50 years in prison.
Denise Dalton, 42, of Knox, received her sentence in the Starke Circuit Court on Thursday for Possession of Methamphetamine, as a Class D Felony. All other charges against her were dismissed, including Manufacturing Methamphetamine as a Class A Felony, Illegal Drug Lab, and Battery.
Dalton was sentenced to 18 months in the Department of Corrections with none of that time suspended. Her time will be served on home detention with electronic monitoring by Community Corrections, and was given 16 days credit for time served.
Samuel Smith plead guilty last week to battering his wife in the presence of his two-year-old child. Smith was present in Starke Circuit Court on Thursday along with his attorney, Richard Ballard.
Convicted of a Class D Felony, Domestic Battery with a Child Present, Smith will serve 18 months in the Department of Corrections with none of that sentence suspended. A $50 domestic violence fee has also been imposed, and he will submit to a DNA cheek swab. He was credited with 176 days served, and he is also required to complete a Batterer’s Intervention program.
As part of the plea agreement, charges of Criminal Confinement and Resisting Law Enforcement were dismissed.
The case against Stacie Brown continues with a plea deadline extension that was accepted by the Starke Circuit Court. Judge Kim Hall granted an extension to December 1st at 8:00 a.m. to allow Brown’s attorney, Timothy Lemon, to finish the discovery of the case and speak to some of the state’s witnesses. Lemon says the discovery is going well, but because expert witnesses are involved, he would like more time in order to speak to each of them.
Having previously plead guilty to two counts of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor as a Class B Felony and Incest as a Class B Felony, 39-year-old Ken Singleton appeared before Judge Kim Hall in the Starke Circuit Court on Thursday to be sentenced. The victim of the sexual abuse was not present to make a statement but a victim impact letter she had written was read aloud in court.
Donald Humphrey was sentenced Wednesday in the Starke Circuit Court for Harassment as a Class D misdemeanor, Intimidation as a Class D felony, and two charges of Intimidation as a Class C felony.
During the sentencing hearing, the victim, David Palm, gave a brief statement to the court requesting the maximum sentence for Humphrey, saying he’ll “never change.” He also requested three days of pay that he had lost to come to court, for a total of $250.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of Gerald Broude. Broude was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court in December of 2010 to 50 years on each of the three Class A Felony counts of Child Molestation, and eight years on one count of Child Molestation, a Class C Felony. The sentences were ordered to be run concurrently to total 50 years.
A jury found him guilty on four counts of Child Molestation after deliberating less than 30 minutes on December 1st.
Facing two separate criminal cases in the Starke Circuit Court, 41-year-old Mark Wilson of Grovertown was present for his plea and sentencing hearing before Judge Kim Hall.
In his first case, Wilson was charged with Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony. As part of a plea agreement, other charges against him, Possession of Precursors and Possession of Marijuana, were dismissed.
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.
Shelby Thomas appeared in Starke Circuit Court on Friday where he plead not guilty to three counts of Attempted Murder, four counts of Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon and three counts of Resisting Law Enforcement with a Deadly Weapon.
Thomas, of North Judson, was arrested on Sunday, October 16th after he allegedly threatened to kill a Knox man in the 1400 block of west 400 S. in Knox as he held a knife up against his throat. The man got away and Thomas was later questioned about the incident. When officers from the Knox City Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department asked Thomas to place his hands behind his back, his demeanor reportedly turned to anger. He then reached behind his back to remove a knife from his pants line and threatened the lives of two of the officers trying to place him into custody. The blade on the knife was 10 to 12 inches in length and Thomas reportedly began swinging the knife at the three officers and telling them, “I’m not going back to prison. You’ll have to kill me first.” Thomas was then tasered and officers were able to free the knife from Thomas’ hands. Thomas was tasered twice before he released the knife that he reportedly swung at the officers.
A change of venue has been granted by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall in the lawsuit filed by former Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork. The suit was brought about after Belork’s August 11th dismissal of her duties as treasurer of the county. Belork was relieved of her duties by the County Commissioners after a state audit reported financial discrepancies. According to a later commissioner’s report, some of the discrepancies have been cleared up by the Auditor’s office.
Ethan Lowe, Belork’s attorney, asked for a change of venue from Starke County. Representing the County in the matter is attorney, Martin Lucas.
With his trial only a day away, Mark Griffin told the Starke Circuit Court that he would like to plead guilty. No plea agreement was submitted, but Griffin told Judge Kim Hall that a recommendation had been agreed on by Prosecutor Nick Bourff and Defense Attorney Richard Ballard. Griffin said that he no longer wants to take his case to trial because he has been unable to get in contact with the witnesses he had planned to bring forward.
Accused of Battery, Confinement, and Domestic Violence, Richard Garrison, Jr. plead guilty to Battery as a Class C felony in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The state, as part of the accepted plea agreement, dismissed the charges of confinement and domestic violence. Garrison admitted that during an argument, he slammed a door closed on a woman’s arm.
Haven Ewing was to go on trial in Starke Circuit Court this week, but the Starke County Prosecutor has decided to dismiss the Burglary charges against him and file amended charges in Knox City Court.
Ewing was allegedly involved in burglary incidents in the Koontz Lake area in March of 2010. Two others involved in the incidents, Zachary and Ian Bastin, plead guilty to seven counts of Burglary and were sentenced to 15 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on those counts last year.
