News from Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI

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.

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Joseph Giselbach Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Joseph Giselbach

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.

Three Offenders Appear in Starke Circuit Court for Initial Hearings

Posted on Author WKVI
Murriah Dailey

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.

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Three Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI

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.

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John Brooke Sentenced to 22 Years in the Indiana Department of Corrections

Posted on Author WKVI
John Brooke

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.

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John Brooke to be Sentenced Today in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
John Brooke

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.

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Kevin Eggert Pleads Guilty to Intimidation

Posted on Author WKVI
Kevin Eggert

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.

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Starke Circuit Court Judge Denies Donald Smith’s Plea, Returns to Jail

Posted on Author WKVI
Donald Smith

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.

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Starke County I.T. Director Makes Modifications to Video Arraignment System at Jail

Posted on Author WKVI
I.T. Director Bob Smith

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.”

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Roberta Clemons and Jose Santiago, Jr. Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Roberta Clemons

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.

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Jose Santiago, Jr. Pleads Guilty Right before Trial; Roberta Clemons Trial Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Jose Santiago, Jr.

A Knox man’s scheduled trial for today has been canceled in a surprise move by the defendant, Jose Santiago, Jr.
Santiago yesterday in Starke Circuit Court plead guilty without any plea agreement to charges relating to an indoor marijuana growing operation in February of this year.

Police Officers from Knox, Starke County and the Indiana State Police conducted a raid on the illegal operation at 207 Roosevelt Road in Knox and seized 78 marijuana plants in the raid.

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Sentencing Date Scheduled for Kimberly Hitchens

Posted on Author WKVI
Kimberly Hitchens

Kimberly Hitchens will be sentenced Tuesday, April 26th, at 11:15 a.m. CT in Starke Circuit Court. She faces a charge of Assisting a Criminal, a Class D Felony.

Right before she was to stand trial, on April 8th, the State of Indiana dropped two charges she was facing from events surrounding a police shootout at Bass Lake in February 2010. Those included: Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device.

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Initial Hearings Set for Those Arrested in Holloway Motel Meth Lab Bust

Posted on Author WKVI

The six individuals arrested Friday night on various methamphetamine charges will appear before Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. for their initial hearings.

Mathew Schoff, Cheryl Paschen, Kimberly Hurley, Tracey Gaideski, Timothy Clark, and Holloway Motel manager, Freeman Spelts, were arrested Friday after police found three active methamphetamine labs at the Holloway Motel on U.S. 30 in Starke County. They have charges ranging from Possession of Paraphernalia to Manufacturing Methamphetamine and Neglect of a Dependent. An 8-year-old child was taken into protective custody after the incident.

Bond has been set at $50,000 each.

Ron Lawson Testifies in John Brooke Trial

Posted on Author WKVI

The trial of John Brooke continued this morning in Starke Circuit Court. The first witness called to the stand was Starke County Detective Ron Lawson. Lawson testified that he had been called to a shooting incident on Summerholme Drive at Bass Lake and received a briefing from officers on the scene. He testified that he had interviewed John Brooke on three separate interviews to correct or understand discrepancies given by Brooke.

Lawson testified that Brooke was given a waiver of rights form which was signed and Brooke’s attorney was contacted and Lawson was given permission to interview John Brooke. Lawson testified he had also contacted the ATF, FBI and Homeland Security due to the nature of the weaponry and explosives found at the scene and the possible existence of a local militia being involved.

The Detective testified that he had searched a vehicle Brooke was driving and a 308 sniper-type rifle was recovered with a scope.

The trial continues today and is expected to go to the jury by Thursday.

More Testimony Heard Tuesday in John Brooke Jury Trial

Posted on Author WKVI
John Brooke

The trial of John Brooke continued into its second day, and, at the request of the Prosecution, the jury heard statements from James Reed. Reed is one of the men involved in the Bass Lake shootout and who was sentenced to ten years in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery. Special Agent Katherine Newby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms also testified.

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John Brooke’s Trial to Begin Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Brooke

The trial of John Brooke, who was reportedly involved in an incident at Bass Lake in February of 2010, begins today in Starke Circuit Court. Brooke is facing seven charges against him. The trial begins at 9:00 a.m. in Judge Kim Hall’s courtroom. A jury of eight men and four women was seated on Friday.

Brooke was supposed to be on trial with Kimberly Hitchens but in a surprise development, Hitchens had charges of Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery and Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device dismissed by the State of Indiana. She plead guilty to one charge of Aiding and Assisting a Criminal, a Class D felony. A sentencing hearing has not been set at this time.

John Brooke and Kimberly Hitchens Combined Trial Begins Friday in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
John Brooke
Kimberly Hitchens

The combined trial of Kimberly Hitchens and John Brooke is expected to begin with jury selection on Friday, April 8th at 9:00 a.m. in Starke Circuit Court.

According to court documents, on February 15th, 2010, Starke County officers went to a home at Bass Lake to serve an arrest warrant to Michael Drogosz, who allegedly planned an ambush on police when they served him the warrant. Kimberly Hitchens told police that Drogosz was not at the residence when they appeared. Drogosz was at the residence and in possession of assault rifles and incendiary devices and he did open fire on police with an assault weapon. An accomplice, James Reed, reportedly called John Brooke to come to the residence. He appeared carrying an assault rifle and wearing body armor.

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Starke Circuit Court Judge Rejects Plea Agreement for Kimberly Hitchens; Trial Set for April 8th

Posted on Author WKVI
Kimberly Hitchens

Kimberly Hitchens appeared in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning for a plea hearing. Hitchens was reportedly involved in events surrounding the Bass Lake shooting incident with Starke County police that also involved Michael Drogosz and John Brooke. She has been charged with Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery, two counts of Possession/Manufacturing of a Destructive Device (aiding), and Assisting a Criminal.

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Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall Sentences Rodney Craft; Gary McCormick

Posted on Author WKVI
Rodney Craft

Rodney Craft was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court this (Thursday) morning.

Craft plead guilty in a plea agreement to Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Marijuana with a Prior Conviction, Possession of Methamphetamine, Failure to Appear, Escape, and Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors with the Intent to Manufacture Methamphetamine. All charges stem from several different criminal cases in Starke County. Judge Kim Hall sentenced Craft to 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections. His Starke County sentence will run consecutively with a sentence handed down in Pulaski County Circuit Court on Tuesday, March 15th. He had plead guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Cocaine and Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors with the Intent to Manufacture Methamphetamine. He received a sentence of four years on all counts. In all, he will serve 14 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Gary McCormick

Judge Hall also sentenced Gary McCormick in Circuit Court this morning. In an amended plea agreement, McCormick agreed to plead guilty to an amended charge of Sexual Battery and a charge of Strangulation. Judge Hall accepted the plea agreement and sentenced McCormick to three years on each charge. He will serve six years with none suspended in the DOC.

Four Arrested in Cock Fighting Ring Appear for Initial Hearing in Starke Circuit Court

Posted on Author WKVI
Prisoners are escorted from Starke Circuit Court

Four individuals allegedly involved with the cock fighting ring in Starke County underwent their initial hearing Wednesday at the Starke Circuit Court. Benjamin Villicana, 32; Francisco Reyes, 37; Juan Gonzales, 33; and Francisco Fernando Reyes, 41 all entered preliminary not guilty pleas for their charges of one count Animal Fighting Contest, a class D felony after having their rights read and explained to them in Spanish by a DVD played in the courtroom because of their lack of fluency with English. The rest of the court session was translated by an interpreter over the phone.

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