Inmates at the Starke County Jail who are arrested for drug-related offenses will soon be able to seek treatment while they are locked up. The county is already home to the Indiana Department of Correction’s first non-prison based therapeutic community intensive inpatient drug treatment program. Continue reading
Starke County Jail Prepares for D.O.C. Inmates
Officials at the Starke County Jail are preparing for an influx of inmates this week. They are Department of Correction prisoners who have been sentenced to an extensive drug treatment program. Starke County was approved late last year for the state’s first non-prison-based therapeutic community, thanks to the efforts of State Sen. Jim Arnold, Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall and others. Sheriff Bill Dulin says there’s plenty of room in the jail for up to 48 D.O.C. inmates without displacing any local prisoners. Continue reading
Economic Development Director to Outline Plans Tonight
Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Charlie Weaver will present his long-term vision for funds from the county economic development income tax to the county council when they meet this evening. In previous meetings Weaver has expressed a desire to invest in road improvements in the Knox Industrial Park to make it more attractive to businesses looking to relocate or expand. He’s also made mention of improvements in the Hamlet area. Continue reading
Coroner Space Scrapped from Old Jail Renovatoins
The extensive renovations of the old Starke County Jail in downtown Knox will not include space for the coroner. The county council and commissioners made that decision Monday night when they formally agreed to proceed with reconfiguring that building for the probation department and Starke County Community Corrections. Continue reading
Starke County Community Corrections to Increase Surveillance, Data Collection with Grant Funds
Starke County Community Corrections will be able to increase compliance checks of those serving home detention, as well as step up its data collection efforts, thanks to a grant from the Indiana Department of Correction. Continue reading
Starke County Receives Community Corrections Grants
Starke County has gotten over $103,000 in grant funding from the Indiana Department of Correction. A grant for over $80,000 has been awarded to Starke County Community Corrections to increase case management services and surveillance of those taking part in its programs, while another grant for nearly $23,000 is going to the Starke County Circuit Court Probation Department. Continue reading
Authorities Apprehend Runaway Teenager
A runaway teenage girl who gave the officer who picked her up the slip Thursday night is lodged in a juvenile treatment facility following an extensive, multi-agency search. Continue reading
Hamlet Man Faces Meth Charges
A Monday morning home visit by Starke County Community Corrections ended with a trip to jail for a Hamlet man. They contacted the Hamlet Police Department after doing a routine check on 51-year-old Donald Frazier and reportedly finding suspicious items. Continue reading
Starke County Community Corrections Extends Lease
The Starke County Community Corrections office is staying put until the old jail building in downtown Knox is renovated to accommodate them. Continue reading
Sunday Vigil to Mark International Overdose Awareness Day
Moving Starke County Forward is trying to take the stigma out of drug overdoses with a Sunday evening event at Wythogan Park in Knox. Advocates and community members will remember the 61 lives lost in Starke County with a candlelight vigil and share information about the perils and pitfalls of drug use. Jordan Morris from Starke County Community Corrections says people who use drugs are less likely to be aware of the potential consequences of their actions. She says common rationalizations include “I know my limit” or “I always test what I get first, so I know the strength of it.” She adds mixing different types of drugs can often prove fatal. Continue reading
Commissioners Outline Timeline for Facility Renovations
Proposed renovations to the Starke County Courthouse and old jail building across the street will start next spring and wrap up by the end of 2016 under a timeline adopted last night by the county commissioners. Plans call for the former jail building to be turned into office space for Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Purdue Extension will move from the courthouse into the basement, and space will be incorporated for a county morgue facility. Continue reading
Starke County Commissioners Approve Use of Force Policy for Community Corrections
Starke County Community Corrections officers who choose to undergo initial and continuing education training can carry firearms on duty after action Monday by the Starke County Commissioners. Program Coordinator Shawn Mattraw says the community corrections board approved a use of force policy, which was also reviewed by county attorney Marty Lucas.
Furlong Sentenced to Five Years on Home Detention
A Knox man received a sentence of five years on home detention after pleading guilty to charges in two different cases in Starke Circuit Court.
Nathaniel Furlong admitted to a probation violation and was sentenced to four years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended. He was permitted to serve his sentence on home detention with electronic monitoring with Starke County Community Corrections.
Curtis DeVries Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court
Curtis DeVries was sentenced Monday afternoon in Starke Circuit Court.
A 12-member jury found Curtis DeVries not guilty on a charge of burglary, but he was found guilty on a lesser included offense of residential entry, a Class D felony. The jury also found DeVries guilty on a charge of criminal mischief as a Class A misdemeanor. The verdicts came in on Friday, Oct. 24.
Judge Kim Hall told DeVries Monday that he has a large drinking problem that he needs to get under control. Judge Hall stated that if he hadn’t have consumed such a large amount of alcohol on the night of this event, he wouldn’t be in court facing a sentence.
Two Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court
Two defendants were sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Monday morning.
Winford Hensley II pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state on three charges in three different cases: habitual traffic violator, possession by a meth offender and resisting law enforcement. Judge Kim Hall accepted the plea agreement.
Building Corporation, Commissioners Discuss Courthouse Renovations
Money to renovate the second floor of the Starke County Courthouse could come from the county economic development income tax funds used to pay for the new jail. At that time the existing jail across from the courthouse will be renovated to accommodate Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department. Plans call for the prosecutor’s office to move from the basement of the current jail into the courthouse and the current clerk’s office to be renovated. Continue reading
Sentence Modifications Heard in Starke Circuit Court
A sentence modification was approved in the case of Douglas Beem.
He requested the judge to move from Community Transition Program (CTP) to probation and/or to home detention. The state objected to a move to probation but accepted a move to daily reporting home detention with Starke County Community Corrections. The request was granted by Judge Kim Hall.
Two Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court
A man was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday on two charges after a battery incident in North Judson on March 15.
Michael Hanley, Jr., 30, of North Judson pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state in September to a charge of criminal confinement as a Class C felony and residential entry as a Class D felony. He admitted in open court to entering the home of a North Judson man without consent and blocking the door so he couldn’t leave while a co-defendant allegedly battered the victim. The co-defendant’s case is still pending a resolution as he participates in drug rehab.
Judge Accepts Sentence Modifications for Two Defendants
Two sentence modification requests were brought before Judge Kim Hall in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday morning. Continue reading
Several Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court
Several defendants were sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Thursday morning.
Devin Trusty pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the State to a charge of operating a vehicle with a lifetime suspension. Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese accepted the plea agreement which called for a sentence of three years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended. While incarcerated, trusty will participate in a therapeutic community. If he successfully completes the CLIFF or GRIP program, he may petition the court for a modification of his sentence.
