A house fire in Knox on Thursday turned out to be the act of arson and a suspect is in custody.
Firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to a house fire in the 2000 East block of County Road 200 South at 8 p.m. on July 24. When they arrived, the home was fully engulfed in flames.
Starke County Sheriff’s deputies have found Joshua Simpkins, 32, of Knox.
Simpkins went missing from a residence on 500 East and State Road 8 in Knox.
Community members and personnel from the sheriff’s department searched the area and he was safely located, according to officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department.
A fatal Saturday crash on a rural North Judson road remains under investigation. It happened just before noon on County Road 350 West north of 500 South, according to a news release from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Continue reading
A Walkerton man was arrested Sunday after an allegedly battering his girlfriend.
Starke County Sheriff’s Department deputies and Walkerton police officers arrived at a home in the 8200 block of N. Oak Avenue in Koontz Lake after receiving word that a man was battering his girlfriend and a child was present.
A Grovertown man faces multiple charges after detectives from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department served a warrant at his home late last week. Detective Rob Olejniczak says items reported stolen from the Grovertown home of Hope Grounds on June 15 were recovered at Stephen Danti’s residence in the 4000 North block of 1100 East. Continue reading
A habitual traffic violator faces new charges in Starke County after his arrest on Friday by a Starke County Sheriff’s Deputy. A vehicle driven by Steven Gott was pulled over on 350 East after running a stop sign, according to information from the sheriff’s department. Gott’s license is suspended, and he was also consuming alcohol while driving, according to the arrest report.
Youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17 and their parents will have a chance to see firsthand the consequences of continued delinquent behavior as part of an upcoming program offered by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Participants in the two-hour “Think Before You Act” program will get a guided tour of Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall’s courtroom and have a chance to talk to him about the problems they are experiencing.
Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff hopes to file formal charges today against the Knox man accused of stealing two cars and leading police on a high speed chase Friday afternoon. Police say Gary Chavez, 57, of Knox, commandeered the first car in the Mark Bailey’s Discount Center parking lot at 3:41 p.m. He switched vehicles in English Lake, according to authorities, and left the owner of the first stolen car behind when he took a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Continue reading
The first of several charges has been filed against the Knox man police say stole two cars in Starke County Friday afternoon, led police on a high-speed chase, stole a third vehicle in Porter County and shot himself after officers in Lake County used stop sticks to flatten the tires of the truck he was driving. Gary Chavez, 57, is still in critical condition at Christ Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill. Continue reading
Starke County Prosecutor Nichoals Bourff does not anticipate filing charges against the Knox man police say stole two cars in Starke County and led them on a high-speed chase through four northwest Indiana counties until at least tomorrow. Gary Chavez, 57, of Knox is still in critical condition at Christ Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill. He’s been there since Friday night after shooting himself in an apparent attempt to avoid arrest by police in Crown Point. They used stop sticks to flatten the tires on the truck Chavez was driving. Continue reading
The Knox man police say stole three vehicles and led officers from multiple departments on a high-speed chase through four counties Friday afternoon is still in critical condition at Christ Advocate Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill. The pursuit started in Starke County when Gary Chavez, 57, of Knox, allegedly stole a car at gunpoint from the parking lot at Mark Bailey’s Discount Center. Continue reading
The Starke County Prosecutor’s Office expects to file formal charges today against the Knox man accused of stealing two cars in Starke County and leading police from multiple agencies on a high-speed chase through four counties Friday afternoon. Continue reading
Officials with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department have released the name of the man accused of stealing three vehicles and leading police from multiple agencies on a high-speed chase through Starke, LaPorte, Porter and Lake Counties Friday afternoon. Continue reading
Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells is scheduling a forensic autopsy for the victim of an apparent homicide at a California Township home. Investigators from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department found the woman late Friday afternoon after a high-speed chase that began with a carjacking at Mark Bailey’s Discount Center on State Road 10at 3:41 p.m. and ended on Interstate 65 in Lake County when the suspect apparently shot himself after police deployed stop sticks to end the pursuit. He is in critical condition at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. Authorities have not released his name and will not do so until proper next of kin notifications are made. Continue reading
The Starke County man police say carjacked three vehicles and led police from multiple agencies on a four-county high-speed chase this afternoon is in critical condition at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill. after shooting himself while trying to flee. Information released by the Indiana State Police, Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Starke County Prosecutor’s Office indicates the 57-year-old man was involved in a homicide at a home in Knox. Afterward, he drove his personal vehicle to Mark Bailey’s Discount Center and carjacked a motorist at gunpoint at 3:41 p.m. He then drove to English Lake, dumped his passenger and stole a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
A Starke County man police say carjacked a motorist at gunpoint at Mark Bailey’s Discount Center Friday afternoon led officers from multiple agencies on a high-speed chase through four counties before turning his gun on himself. Officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department will only say the man is 57-years-old. He took the car from the store at 3:41 p.m., according to authorities, and drove it to English Lake, where he left the owner of the first vehicle, stole a second car and fled. Continue reading
Telephone scammers are at it again. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department has received numerous reports from local residents of a variety of suspicious calls from people seeking to have money wired to them for various reasons. These include winning a Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes or other prize and having a grandchild in jail. Most of the calls seem to be targeting elderly people. Sheriff’s department officials urge anyone who gets such a call not to send money, no matter how persuasive the person on the other end of the phone is. Continue reading
At least two people were injured in a late morning crash on State Road 8 at U.S. 35. The driver of a red Chevrolet Cavailer was eastbound on 8 and ran the stop sign, according to witnesses and officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. A northbound Chrysler minivan was unable to avoid hitting the car, which came to rest on the northeast corner of the intersection. Firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Fire Department had to cut the female passenger from the wreckage. She complained of neck and back pain but was alert and conscious. She was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for treatment. Neither driver was injured, but two passengers in the van were hurt.
The driver of a car that ran off the road, struck an embankment and rolled over east of Knox early Wednesday morning is in serious condition at Memorial Hospital of South Bend this morning.
Brandon Owens, 29, was thrown from the car as it was rolling over, according to information released by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. The vehicle rolled on top of Owens and back off of him, landing on its top. Owens was apparently in the field for several hours before a passerby noticed the accident and called for help. Starke County EMS and first responders from the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department assisted a deputy from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department.
A two-vehicle wreck just before 11 a.m. on U.S. 35 just south of U.S. 30 sent the driver of one of the cars to the hospital. According to witnesses, the driver of the green Pontiac Sunfire did not stop when she came off the ramp from U.S. 30 onto U.S. 35. Her car hit the left side of a Chrysler Town and Country minivan owned by Braman and Son Memorial Chapel. It was northbound on 35 when the crash occurred. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Hamlet Police Department and Indiana State Police all responded. The driver of the Pontiac was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital by ambulance. There’s no word yet on the extent of her injuries or her name.
