Snowfall Results in Several Accidents; No Serious Injuries Reported

Posted on Author WKVI
Emergency crews work to remove the passenger door of the minivan to extricate a female victim from the accident on Toto Road.

The first significant snowfall hit the Kankakee Valley last week, and dozens of slide-offs, collisions, and property damage accidents were reported through the area.

While no life-threatening injuries have been reported from any of the accidents around Starke County, two people were injured and transported to the hospital following a two-vehicle accident on Dec. 26 around 11:23 a.m. According to the crash report, John Stimach, Jr. of Dyer was traveling westbound on Toto Road when his vehicle struck that of Michael A. Nichols of La Porte.

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Knox Man Arrested Following Apartment Burglary

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested following the execution of a search warrant in the wake of a burglary at the Ruthie Drive apartments.

Alysia and Kevin Bowman left their apartment around 11 a.m. on Christmas Eve to spend time with family, and later that night, Alysia received a message from a friend who informed her that her apartment door had been kicked open. Her neighbor confirmed the door had been kicked in, and the pair rushed home to see what had taken place.

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Starke County Sheriff’s Dept. To Step Up New Year Patrols

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department will be out in force the next few days seeking impaired drivers.

The New Year’s holiday is a time of heightened awareness of impaired driving and officers will be out patrolling to keep the roadways safe.

If you plan on going out for the New Year’s Eve weekend, be sure to designate a sober driver or arrange for a sober driver to take you where you need to go. If someone you know is intoxicated, do not let them operate a vehicle. If you see a possible intoxicated driver on a roadway, call 911.

Starke County Man Dies after Trees Falls on Him

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man died Sunday while cutting down trees.

Starke County Coroner Kris Rannells confirmed that John A. Nolen, Sr. was cutting down trees with his nephew Sunday afternoon when a tree fell on him and trapped him underneath it. Nolen was attempting to guide the tree with a rope as his nephew cut the trunk when it fell.

Starke County Emergency Medical Services and responders from the Bass Lake Fire Department arrived at the scene at an area east of Starke County on 400 South, but Nolen had already died of his injuries. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Starke County Coroner conducted an investigation and Coroner Rannells found that 69-year-old John Nolen, Sr. died instantly at the scene of blunt force trauma.

Two Arrested For Manufacturing Methamphetamine

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Walkerton residents were arrested on Friday, Nov. 30 after police allegedly found them in possession of methamphetamine and precursors in which to manufacture the drug.

Starke County officers learned that the occupants at 11220 E. 875 N. were manufacturing meth. When officers arrived on scene, they reportedly saw a zip-lock bag containing a light blue substance which they recognized as being an ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

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Two Arrested after Pursuit Incident with Hamlet Police

Posted on Author WKVI

Two people were arrested Saturday night after a pursuit incident with Hamlet police.

A Hamlet police officer was parked at the intersection of Starke and Indiana Streets when a person driving a motorcycle disregarded the stop sign and continued to travel through the intersection at a high rate of speed. The officer pulled into the intersection and a second motorcycle skidded to a stop at the intersection. The officer spoke to the subject and asked him to stay where he was and took off in pursuit of the other motorcycle driver.

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Two Arrested After Search Turns Up Slew Of Precursors, Drugs

Posted on Author WKVI

Starke County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two county residents on Wednesday after responding to a residence under the suspicion that a person at the residence had a warrant out for his arrest.

Two officers arrived at 11220 E. 875 N. around 9:50 a.m. One officer covered the rear entrance while the other stayed at the front door, but before long, the officer who had traveled to the rear of the home located a zip-lock baggie containing a light blue substance that he suspected to be organic solvent, an ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

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Two Taken to Hospital after Two Vehicle Accident in Starke County

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department responded to a two vehicle accident last night around 5:35 p.m. in the area of U.S. 421 and 650 South in Starke County.

The details of the accident are not being released at this time, but officials have confirmed that two people were transported to the hospital from the scene. Their condition is unknown at this time.

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North Judson Man Arrested For Alleged Battery

Posted on Author WKVI

Formal charges are pending against a North Judson man who allegedly was involved in a domestic battery issue Sunday.

North Judson police responded to a call of a domestic dispute in the 300 block of Franklin Avenue. A woman called police to say she was battered by her husband, Jeffrey Jacobs, in front of a child. She called 911 to report the incident but he took the phone from her and hid.

After an initial investigation by North Judson Police and with the assistance from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Knox City Police Department, Jacobs was located and taken into custody. He was arrested on preliminary charges of Domestic Battery, Resisting Law Enforcement and Interfering with the Reporting of a Crime. He was booked in the Starke County Jail.

Starke County Council Approves Sheriff’s Request For Second New Vehicle

Posted on Author WKVI
Sheriff Oscar Cowen
Sheriff Oscar Cowen

Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen gets to go car shopping, as the county council this week approved his request to purchase a second new squad car.

The council had previously heard a request from Cowen for three new squad cars before the end of the year, but the council decided to approve the first vehicle and see where they’d be budget-wise toward the end of the year. Since then, Cowen said he has received the first car, but now he’s back to see about getting the second.

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Knox Elementary School Briefly Locked Down Yesterday

Posted on Author WKVI

A domestic dispute in Knox led police to lock down the Knox Elementary School as a precaution yesterday.

Knox City Police were called to a Knox residence in response to threats that had been made toward family members. When police arrived on the scene, officers learned that the threats that had been made were related to a domestic incident that had occurred the night before. Unfortunately, the male subject had left the home before officers arrived and authorities believed he was in an unstable state of mind.

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Starke County Police Arrest Three On Warrants

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department arrested three people on outstanding warrants Friday morning.

Stephan Buckingham and James Hattery were arrested on warrants for probation violations. Hattery had been sentenced to time in the Department of Corrections in 2010 and after serving his sentence in the DOC, he was placed on probation. While on probation, police say he committed Domestic Battery as a Class D felony and Intimidation as a Class D felony, prompting a warrant to be issued for his arrest. Hattery will appear in the Starke Circuit Court tomorrow for a hearing.

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Oh, Deer!

Posted on Author WKVI
A deer reportedly jumped through a window at this home on Lake Street

It’s one of those things that you just have to see it to believe it.

One Knox resident was surprised to find out that a deer had jumped through a picture window at his home on W. Lake Street Sunday morning.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department received a call from a resident on Lake Street who stated that a deer reportedly had just jumped through his neighbor’s picture window.  It jumped in and jumped right back out again.  No other damage was reported to the home.

The Knox City Police Department responded to the scene.

Knox Man Pleads Guilty to Intent to View Child Pornography

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last week to the felony offense of Accessing with the Intent to View Child Pornography.

In December 2011, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department investigated allegations that 41-year-old Jeffrey Farmer was involved in a child molestation incident and officers obtained a federal search warrant to search his computer. Agents discovered images depicting child pornography. Charges were brought about as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Office of Homeland Security Investigations, Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Hammond Police Department.

Sentencing in this case has been set for Feb. 4, 2013.

Knox Man Arrested For Threatening Girlfriend With a Gun

Posted on Author WKVI

Police arrested a Knox man Wednesday after he allegedly went berserk, knocking over furniture before grabbing a shotgun and threatening his girlfriend.

At around 12:25 p.m. on Halloween, Police were dispatched to 6611 E. Toto Rd. in response to a female caller who advised her boyfriend had “destroyed” the residence, broke her cell phone so she could not call police, and then left the residence with a shotgun. She told police when they arrived that she and her boyfriend, Brent Komon, had been arguing all morning, but he became belligerent and knocked over a five-foot-tall cabinet. The victim told police that she then left the residence to take her son to a doctor’s appointment, but as she was leaving, she noticed him carrying a gun into the residence.

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Knox Man Arrested For Allegedly Battering Girlfriend

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Tuesday after an alleged battery incident.

The victim told police that she and her boyfriend, Chaney Campos, reportedly had a verbal argument a few days prior to this incident and he allegedly caused injury to her arm after he squeezed it. The next day, they were arguing and he reportedly pushed her off the bed, injuring her. On Tuesday, she and Campos got into an argument once again and she walked away from him. He then allegedly pushed her up against a wall in the kitchen and grabbed her throat, restricting her breathing. They continued to argue and he then kicked her out of the apartment they shared.

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Starke Co. Sheriff’s Dept. To Utilize Electronic Ticketing

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department will soon be streamlining operations when issuing traffic tickets or warnings.

A Sheriff’s Department representative and IT Director Joe Short attended a training session last week in electronic ticketing. With this system, when an officer pulls over a suspected traffic violator, the officer will be able to scan a Driver’s License and vehicle registration into a mobile computer, plus fill out the necessary violation information, edit any information – like an address – and print out the ticket at the time of the traffic stop. This puts the information of the traffic stop into the state computer system and lessens the paperwork and time of the traffic stop.

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