Starke Co. Sheriff’s Dept. Radio Tower Repair Project Hits a Snag

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

It’s been a couple months since a number of vicious storms tore through the area, causing massive amounts of damage and toppling several tall towers.

According to Starke County IT Director Joe Short, repairing the damage that was done to the Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower is currently one of their top priorities, but they’re running into some complications. Short explained that the city of Knox has a restriction on the maximum height of a tower in a residential area, limiting the tower to a height of 100 feet.

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In-Home Care Provider Arrested For Manufacturing Methamphetamine At Client’s Home

Posted on Author WKVI

An in-home care provider was arrested in Starke County this weekend for allegedly manufacturing methamphetamine on her client’s property. Jannine Clemons of Knox told police that she had found a strange container of drain cleaner in her laundry room on Aug. 17, and when she looked inside it, she found several strange items including battery pieces and medication wrapping.

Clemons says she then hid the container in her garden and purchased a motion camera, which she placed on a table aiming towards the back door in an effort to see who may have left the items – and she could not believe what she discovered.

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Starke County K9 Fritz To Be Retired

Posted on Author WKVI
Officer James Upsall and K9 Fritz demonstrate a hold on Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department K9 is retiring. K9 officer and handler, James Upsall, said the two-year certification is coming up at the end of the month and the decision was made not to renew that certification and Fritz will be retired.

Upsall said Fritz had several narcotics busts during his three-year tenure at the Sheriff’s Department.

“He has had a lot of narcotic busts with traffic stops and that varies from any variety of pills, marijuana and meth,” said Upsall.

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Proposed Jail Could House New Starke County Sheriff’s Dept. Antenna

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

Repairs are still underway in Starke County in the wake of this year’s storms in June and July. County IT Director Joe Short says one of the most important items they are working on repairing at the moment is the sheriff’s department’s radio tower, which was severely damaged during the storm.

Unfortunately, the tower is unable to be repaired because of the way it is built. Short says the county will need to purchase a new tower, as no tower companies are willing to make repairs to the structure.

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Plymouth Woman Arrested After Pawning Stolen Video Games

Posted on Author WKVI

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Starke County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Plymouth woman on Monday after she allegedly pawned electronics that were stolen from a North Judson family earlier this month.

Nicholas Shepherd from Unplugged Gaming company told officers that on Aug. 2, he and his wife had left their home with Austin Pike at the residence and when Shepherd returned home, he found his Xbox 360 missing along with a 120 GB hard drive and six Xbox games. He went to the Pawn Shop where he learned a woman pawned the items.

The case was assigned to detectives who soon found that Amy Cooke pawned the items for $35.

Cooke was arrested on Monday and booked in the Starke County Jail on preliminary charges of Theft and Receiving Stolen Property.

Intoxicated Winamac Man Arrested Following Accident

Posted on Author WKVI

A Winamac man was arrested after a late Friday night accident that injured two people.

A call had been placed into the Starke County Dispatch Center of a man speeding and driving off the side of the road. A short time later, Starke County emergency personnel were called to a two-vehicle accident at County Road 450 South and County Road 210 near Bass Lake. The driver of the vehicle that reportedly caused the accident, Gregory Moore, was extricated from his vehicle and taken to IU Health Starke Hospital. A blood draw was performed which showed that Moore was intoxicated at the time of the crash with a BAC of 0.25, which is more than three times the legal limit.

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Officials Release Identity Of Woman Injured In Washington Township Accident

Posted on Author WKVI

Officials have released the identity of a woman injured in an accident in Washington Township Wednesday night.

Police say 26-year-old Amanda Tomerlin of Knox was traveling at a high rate of speed on 700 East just north of 25 North in Starke County when she reportedly went off the road near Eagle Creek Cemetery. Her car struck the fence, causing the vehicle to spin around and into a tree before coming to a rest against another portion of the cemetery’s fence.

Tomerlin was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for injuries sustained in the accident, and she was later transported to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

Toxicology tests were inconclusive and the case remains under investigation.

Monterey Man Injured Following Pursuit In Allegedly Stolen Vehicle

Posted on Author WKVI

A Monterey man was injured after a pursuit with Starke County police on Tuesday.

Information was received by Sheriff’s Department deputies that Bobby Jewel was driving a stolen pick-up and manufacturing methamphetamine in the Monterey area in Starke County.

Officers located the vehicle in the roadway on Lincoln Street, but when they approached the vehicle, it sped away. A traffic stop was attempted on the vehicle for unsafe start, but the driver ignored the lights and sirens. The pursuit ended after the vehicle went through a shed and a chain link fence in a yard on Adams Street in Monterey.

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Bass Lake Man Dies in Motorcycle Accident

Posted on Author WKVI

A Bass Lake man died Wednesday after being injured in a motorcycle accident.

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department determined that William (Bill) Wagner, 55, was on State Road 10 just west of the Bass Lake Beach and went left of center just prior to the start of a curve. The motorcycle then went into a ditch, struck a raised driveway causing it to go airborne. The motorcycle landed on the front wheel and the back went airborne. The driver and the motorcycle then hit a tree.

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Owners of Five Seized Horses To Face Animal Cruelty Charges

Posted on Author WKVI

After the Starke County Sheriff’s Department received a flood of calls reporting five horses in the roadway on Sunday night, the animals were seized and are being cared for. Now the owner is facing charges of cruelty to animals.

At least two of the loose horses appeared emaciated and unkempt, and the five animals had escaped their pen and were walking in the middle of the road. They were picked up by the sheriff’s department and are now being cared for by the Starke County Sheriff’s Posse.

County Prosecutor Nick Bourff says the large commotion created by the concerned citizens who made the calls out of concern for the animals’ well-being is what prompted the sheriff’s department to take action and seize the animals.

Bourff says this is the first time they have filed any charges on the owners of these five animals.

Knox Man Arrested For Theft of Lawn Tractor

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested after he allegedly broke into a home in Knox on Saturday.

A resident living in the 1800 block of County Road 300 East in Knox called the Starke County Sheriff’s Department to report that an unknown person broke into her home and stole several items. The shed on the property had also been broken into and a lawn tractor was stolen. The lawn tractor was later found in a shed at a residence near the crime scene.

Officers obtained a search warrant for that residence and on Monday, the items that were reported stolen were recovered. Patrick Sullivan, 36, was at the home at the time the search warrant was conducted and was taken into custody. Sullivan has preliminary charges of Theft and Receiving Stolen Property.

San Pierre Woman Arrested after an Alleged Battery Incident

Posted on Author WKVI

An alleged battery incident occurred yesterday in the North Judson area.

Angela Schwei and another woman were reportedly engaged in a verbal argument in the Burger King restaurant on Talmer Avenue and were told to leave. They went out in the parking lot and the argument escalated. Schwei allegedly got out a sharp object and slashed the victim on the leg, causing a gash.

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13-Year-Old Found and Returned Home in Starke County

Posted on Author WKVI
13-year-old James A. Chapman was reported missing Wednesday afternoon.

A 13-year-old boy has been found and returned home safely after he was reported missing in Starke County at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police say that James A. Chapman left his home in the 5000 East block of 100 North through a bedroom window and was seen a short time later, approximately one-quarter of a mile east of his residence.

Family and friends were contacted but no one had seen him for several hours after he was discovered missing. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department released a runaway report at 6 p.m. last evening.

The sheriff’s department announced that he was returned home safely before 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Plymouth Man Arrested, Found With Stolen Stereo Equipment

Posted on Author WKVI

A Plymouth man was arrested in Knox early Sunday after stolen property was reportedly found in his vehicle.

A Knox police officer received a call of a fight outside a bar in downtown Knox. When the officer arrived on scene, Timothy Abair ran from him and was later taken into custody on preliminary charges of Public Intoxication and Resisting Law Enforcement. Abair had asked a friend to secure his car until things got straightened out.

In the meantime, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department had received two theft calls from the downtown area. Police were alerted that some of the stolen items were in a vehicle parked downtown. After an investigation, officers determined that the stolen stereo equipment was in Abair’s vehicle.

Abair, 22, was additionally charged with Theft. Formal charges are pending with the Starke County Prosecutor’s Office.

Two Arrested After Police Receive Accidental Text of a Drug Sale

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Knox residents were arrested Tuesday on drug charges.

A deputy from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department reportedly received a text message from an unknown person asking about a drug transaction. The text reportedly talked about selling methamphetamine, and police say the message requested to meet the subject at the Knox Post Office. Officers from the Knox City Police Department arrived on scene and waited for the transaction to take place. When it was complete, officers moved in and arrested 53-year-old Tony Clemons and 44-year-old Deborah Clemons of Knox on a preliminary charge of Dealing Methamphetamine.

Multiple bags of methamphetamine were found in their possession.

Five Horses Seized In Starke County After Numerous Complaints

Posted on Author WKVI
Starke County Sheriff's Department

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department this weekend responded to a complaint about neglected horses in the roadway.

On Sunday, officers received a call from a resident informing them that horses were in the roadway on Range Road south of Toto Road, and police noted that this was approximately the 10th call they had received in the last month concerning these horses in the roadway. The complainant told police that the horses appeared emaciated and unkempt, and said they were obviously not being fed and taken care of properly.

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Crews Work on Tower at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department

Posted on Author WKVI
Crews work on the tower at the Starke County Sheriff's Department

The tower at the Starke County Sheriff’s Department sustained damage in yesterday’s storms and crews are on the scene repairing that damage.

“The wind took out the first 60 or 80 feet of the tower, it totally bent it over,” said Starke County Commissioner Dan Bridegroom. “What we’re going to do today (Wednesday) is try to remove the antennas that were on the tower and then take about a 60 foot section off the tower and see if we can replace the antennas to get the coverage throughout the county. This will be the remedy until we get a new tower.”

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Starke County Vehicle Search Turns Up Methamphetamine – Four Arrested

Posted on Author WKVI

Four people were arrested Tuesday after a traffic stop in Starke County.

A deputy from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department conducted a traffic stop on State Road 23 near 950 East and the officer was granted permission to search the vehicle. Several items used to manufacture and package methamphetamine as well as the finished product were found in the vehicle.

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Knox Man Arrested Following Search of Residence

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Friday after a search warrant was conducted at his residence.

Late Friday night, a search warrant was executed by Starke County officers in the 700 E. block of East State Road 8 in Knox. During the search, officers reportedly found methamphetamine, precursors to manufacture methamphetamine, controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.

Christopher Kennedy was arrested on preliminary charges of Possession of Methamphetamine, and Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors, Controlled Substances and Drug Paraphernalia, plus Maintaining a Common Nuisance. He has since bonded out of the Starke County Jail.

No Fires Reported Over Holiday For Starke, Pulaski Counties

Posted on Author WKVI

Despite the controversy regarding Pulaski and Starke counties’ recent decisions to rescind their burn bans, no fires were reported on Fourth of July in either county.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department reports that while they had no fire calls on the holiday, they did receive a number of noise complaints because of the fireworks. Overall, it was a safe Fourth of July for the county. No fires and no serious injuries were reported, and the Starke County fireworks celebration went off without a hitch.

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