Jack Haut will appear in Starke Circuit Court this morning for a status hearing. Haut is charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death and Reckless Homicide.
In July 2010, it is alleged that Jack Haut was driving his pickup truck on US 35 north of Knox when he swerved into the other lane and struck Thomas White of Knox head-on. White was riding a motorcycle at the time of the accident and died at the scene.
His jury trial has been scheduled for July 20th at 9:00 a.m.
The trial of Niki Hochstetler continued yesterday in Starke Circuit Court as the defense called Hochstetler to the stand. Hochstetler, a resident of Walkerton, told the jury that she was at the Country Roads Bar and Grill with two of her friends when Eric Amore began insulting and cussing at her. She said that she was not bothering him and had not spoken to him before he began making these disparaging comments.
After a lengthy selection process, a jury of 12 citizens and one alternate juror was chosen in the case of Niki Hochstetler, charged with two counts of Battery with a Deadly Weapon, and one count of Criminal Mischief after allegedly stabbing Eric Amore at the Country Roads Bar and Grill in Walkerton last July. The defense had requested a motion to limit, requesting that witnesses be questioned outside of the presence of the jury to ensure that what the witnesses say is acceptable before the jury, but this request was denied by Judge Kim Hall in the Starke Circuit Court.
Jack Haut appeared in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday afternoon for a final status hearing, and his jury trial has been scheduled for July 20 at 9am. Haut is charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death, and Reckless Homicide. Haut told the court that he plans to have six witnesses, and will provide the court with a list of these witnesses by Friday, July 1. The jury status hearing for this case is set for July 8 at 9am.
Gerald Boyd, of Knox, was arrested on Saturday on cocaine related charges.
A Knox City Police officer was out on routine patrol when he saw Gerald Boyd. The officer ran his information and found he had a valid warrant for his arrest through Starke Circuit Court. When officers conducted a pat-down, the officer noticed something in a small pocket near his waist. Boyd then turned to run from police. As he turned, the officer grabbed the small pocket and ripped it open. Something reportedly fell out of the pocket. Boyd was apprehended and taken to the Starke County Jail. Police found seven small bags that had come out of his pocket and a straw, according to the report. Inside the baggies was a white powdery substance that field tested positive for cocaine.
An attorney status hearing is scheduled in the Starke Circuit Court this afternoon for Hobart Givens, Jr., 21, of Knox. Givens is charged with one count of Stalking, a Class D Felony, and Possession of Marijuana after being apprehended by police following a complaint.
On June 13th, police received a complaint from a resident who said that their 11-year old daughter was harassed by a male subject driving an older maroon Ford Taurus with lightning bolts on both sides. The girl told police that she had been walking her dog on Potter Street when the subject pulled up next to her and asked her how old she was. When she didn’t respond, he asked her if she needed a ride, at which point she immediately picked up her dog and ran home. When police arrived on scene, the victim was “very scared and upset.”
A status hearing regarding the violation of Nathan VanDerAa’s probation was held in Starke Circuit Court Friday. VanDerAa admitted to five violations of his probation, including an arrest in Pulaski County that he did not report for possession of methamphetamine as well as driving while suspended, failure to complete community service, and an overdue balance owed to the probation department. He has also not completed his drug abuse prevention evaluation and did not report to probation as directed.
James Ritenour, Jr. recently appealed his Starke Circuit Court conviction of eight-years for Attempted Battery, a Class C Felony to the Indiana Court of Appeals. Ritenour, Jr. questioned whether sufficient evidence supports his conviction, and he also claims his eight-year sentence for the charge is inappropriate in light of his character and the nature of the offense. Ritenour, Jr. was sentenced to the maximum sentence of eight years, and he requests that his sentence be revised down to the usual term of four years. He also argues that the lack of ballistics tests and conflicting testimony would require a reweighing of the evidence, but the State disagrees.
Four individuals in relation to the animal fighting contest that took place in February appeared before Judge Kim Hall in the Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning with defense attorney Douglas Shaw. Gilberto Narravo, Salvador Reyes, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, and Arnoldo Perez were present with their spouses, who agreed to act as translators from English to Spanish and vice versa. The four men are charged with counts of Attending an Animal Fighting Contest, a Class D Felony.
David Scarberry and Rose Martin, along with their attorney Richard Ballard, appeared in court Thursday in relation to methamphetamine charges, and requested a motion to suppress. Martin and Scarberry testified that they didn’t explicitly give officers permission to search the bedroom they rented from Amy Ahlenius.
Several cases were dismissed, others were modified, and some were set for trial in the Starke Circuit Court this week.
Jamie Jones, with her attorney Richard Ballard, was scheduled for jury trial Tuesday morning but was able to reach an agreement for three felony cases. Jones was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a trafficking charge, and a third charge of possession of stolen property. She was able to reach an agreement in which the third charge, possession of stolen property, would be dropped, but she would receive one year in the DOC for possession of a controlled substance and five years for trafficking. None of that sentence would be suspended, and they would be served consecutively.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced Joseph Giselbach to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, with no part of the sentence suspended, on a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony and Possession of Methamphetamine, a Class D Felony.
Giselbach, 32, of Knox, plead guilty to the charges. Judge Hall will recommend to the Department of Corrections that Giselbach be placed into an intensive methamphetamine treatment program while in prison. If he successfully completes the program, he may petition to have his sentence modified.
Murriah Dailey made an appearance in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday, but her case has been continued until Friday at 9:00 a.m. due to some issues with the police report. The officer has not yet signed the report, so the prosecuting attorney has been unable to file charges at this time. An affidavit for probable cause has been filed for two counts of Attempted Murder, as well as counts of Motor Vehicle Theft, Battery on a Police Officer, and Resisting Law Enforcement with a Vehicle. More charges are expected to be filed by state police after their investigation is completed.
Three defendants were recently sentenced in Starke Circuit Court.
Judge Kim Hall sentenced Michael DeWitt on charges of Bribery, a Class C Felony, Public Intoxication and Criminal Mischief. He was sentenced to serve four years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with two years suspended on the Bribery charge. DeWitt will serve six months in the Starke County Jail with three months suspended on the remaining charges. The sentences will run concurrently. In a second case, DeWitt was given six months in the DOC with none suspended for a probation violation which will be served consecutively to the first case. The first 20 months shall be served in prison and the last 10 months will be served on electronically-monitored home detention. He also serve 24 months on probation.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced John Brooke this morning. Brooke is the last of the suspects involved in the police shootout at Bass Lake in February 2010. Brooke was found guilty of six charges in a jury trial in April. Judge Hall categorized Brooke’s counts into three different criminal episodes and sentenced him according to those elements.
Brooke was sentenced to 15 years on the count of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and 4 years on the count of Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device. Those sentences will be served concurrently. Brooke was sentenced to 4 years on the Intimidation charge, 1 year on the Resisting Law Enforcement charge and 1 year on the Unlawful Use of Body Armor charge. Those sentences will run concurrently together. Brooke will serve 3 years on the Assisting a Criminal charge. All of those sentences will be served consecutively for a total of 22 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. None of the sentence was suspended and he will be credited for 452 already served in jail.
John Brooke, who was found guilty by a jury in his actions surrounding a police shootout at Bass Lake in February 2010, will be sentenced this morning in Starke Circuit Court.
Brooke was found guilty by a jury of six of the seven counts against him on April 15th. Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, Intimidation, Possession and Manufacturing of a Destructive Device, Resisting Law Enforcement, Unlawful Use of Body Armor, and Assisting a Criminal were among these counts. The jury found him not guilty of the count of Possession of a Destructive Device.
After his first plea agreement was denied by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall on April 20th, another plea agreement was reached in the case of Kevin Eggert who has plead guilty to one count of Intimidation, a Class C Felony. Eggert has been incarcerated for 148 days since his arrest, and the victim, Misty Ross, was present to give her approval of the plea agreement.
After being released from jail on his own recognizance on April 20th, Donald Smith was given a plea and sentencing hearing Wednesday in Starke Circuit Court. His plea was not only denied, but in an unexpected turn of events, he was immediately returned to jail.
Smith is charged with Intimidation, a Class D Felony; Dealing Methamphetamine, a Class B Felony; Possession of Precursors with a Firearm, a Class C Felony; and Theft, a Class D Felony. His bond was originally set at $75,000 before he was released.
I.T. Director Bob Smith appeared before the Starke County Commissioners this week. Smith notified the Commissioners that he needed to make some “tweaks” in the Video Arraignment Program and the Starke County Jail monitoring system to make them work more effectively.
“We found out there were a few glitches that was missed, so this is an additional requirement we need to meet for the law that Judge Hall informed me of,” said IT Director, Bob Smith. “We just want to make sure that we are covering everything and getting it up to par.”
Roberta Clemons was scheduled for jury trial on Wednesday in Starke Circuit Court, but instead, she plead guilty to all charges. There was no plea agreement. The potential jurors watched the defendant plead guilty and then they were free to leave the courtroom.
The Sentencing Hearing took place shortly thereafter. Judge Kim Hall sentenced Clemons to the maximum of three years on each of the three counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class D felony. The sentences will be served concurrently. She was ordered to participate in an intensive drug treatment program in the Indiana Department of Corrections. If she successfully completes the treatment program, she may petition the Court to modify her sentence.
