Three Starke County residents were arrested late Wednesday evening after a search warrant was executed by officers at a home in the 11,000 E. block of Division Road in Starke County.

The arrests were the result of a month-long narcotics investigation by officers and detectives with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. According to police, eight grams of crystal methamphetamine packaged in different baggies were recovered during the search, as well as one gram of heroin, five different types of prescription medication, drug paraphernalia, and approximately $700 in cash.

Officers arrested 54-year-old Michael Dennis and 25-year-old Bradley Lovely who reside in Knox, and Grovertown resident 37-year-old Paul Coffin. All three face preliminary felony charges of dealing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a narcotic drug, six counts of possession of a legend drug, and maintaining a common nuisance.

Photos provided by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office.

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A North Judson man lost his life and a Knox man remains in critical condition as the result of a Thursday evening motorcycle accident.

Officers with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of an incident involving two motorcycles around 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 12th.

According to a police report issued by Sheriff Bill Dulin, the preliminary investigation revealed that the motorcycles were traveling eastbound on St Rd 10 in the Bass Lake area.

Investigating offers reportedly found that the two motorcycles crossed the center line and left the roadway where one motorcycle struck a Nipsco utility pole guide wire and the other hit a tree.

The report indicates that as a result of the crashes, 23-year-old Joshua Rudd, of Knox, was airlifted to South Bend Memorial Hospital where he was listed in critical condition and 24-year-old Austin Elder, of North Judson, passed away at the scene.

Both subjects were apparently not wearing their helmets and alcohol and speed are believed to be factors in the accident, according to the report. The investigation remains ongoing with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office.

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Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and officials with the Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County organization will be participating in the DEA’s drug take back event today (Saturday, April 28).

Unwanted, unused or expired prescription medications can be dropped off in a secure, green medicine drop box in the lobby at the Starke County Justice Center at 5435 E. State Road 8 in Knox from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT today. No questions will be asked.

A similar drop box is available in the lobby of the Pulaski County Justice Center. Sheriff Jeff Richwine said the box is there all of the time for anyone wanting to dispose of unwanted prescription medication. He added that about 100 pounds of prescription medications are collected every two months.

It is recommended to dispose of any unused medication properly. One safe method is to take it to a drug take back event like the one today where the medications can be incinerated by officials in a protected environment.

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Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and officials with the Drug and Tobacco Free Starke County organization took in several pounds of unwanted, unused or expired medication as part of the recent Drug Take Back Event.

About 18.5 pounds of medications were collected in the annual event which sponsored by the DEA. The goal is to help prevent pill abuse and theft.

The Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department will continue to collect medications in its secure drop box in the lobby of the Pulaski County Justice Center. Sheriff Jeff Richwine said previously that several hundred pounds of medications are collected every few months.

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The Starke County Commissioners took time Monday night to discuss several capital projects on the schedule for this year.

Commissioner Kathy Norem pointed out that the tuckpointing needs to be done on the courthouse. A portion of it was done a couple of years ago, but problems persist.

“It was not tuckpointed behind the gutters,” said Norem. “There’s water coming in there that is already damaging some of the new stuff that we had done. So, we got a quote last year for that but it was too late in the year for them to do that.”

The downspouts will need to be removed in order to complete the tuckpointing and then they would be reinstalled. Some stone repairs over the entryways will be done as part of this quote. The new quote came in at around $58,500 which was unanimously approved. The project may not begin until August.

The commissioners also discussed the purchase of a new ambulance for Starke County EMS at over $130,000 and two squad cars for the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. The commissioners approved a motion that requests the county council members to appropriate up to $34,000 for a new squad car out of the Jail CEDIT fund.

Other projects discussed include fencing around the air conditioners at the courthouse, a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system at the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, a new computer server at the jail, and the replacement of curbing on the west side of the Starke County Annex No. 2 building. Quotes will be obtained for the projects to determine if they can be done yet this year.

In addition, the commissioners approved a motion to request approximately $50,000 for the county’s grant match in CEDIT funds for the courthouse elevator project. The county council will discuss that later this month.

If quotes allow all of the projects to be complete this year, they will be paid for in stages as money becomes available in the CEDIT fund each month.

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Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary wants to turn his new-to-him department vehicle into an Advanced Life Support non-transport vehicle.

He explained to the Starke County Commissioners Monday night that he recently acquired a retired squad car from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office with less miles and less issues. He said he’d like to certify the vehicle through the state as an ALS non-transport vehicle. With this certification, Clary would be able to carry necessary emergency medications in a secured compartment inside his regular department vehicle in the case he’s first at the scene of a medical emergency.

“It’s a vehicle I’m out driving around quite a bit to different meetings with the hospital,” said Clary. “I’ve been first on scene quite a few times here recently. There were four cardiac arrests where I’ve been first on scene kind of waiting for an ambulance where I could have provided care. That’s where this vehicle would have come into play. If I certify it through the state, I can have all of the life-saving medications.”

Clary said the car would have to be painted a single color as his car is still painted with the two-tone scheme that usually identifies it as a sheriff’s department vehicle. County Attorney Marty Lucas agreed that the car must not show a two-tone color scheme. Clary will look into painting quotes or a vinyl wrap.

The car must also be decaled for proper identification. It will also need a siren and back-up alarm. Clary said there is money in his budget to get the car prepped for certification.

The commissioners allowed Clary to move forward with this change. He will report back to the commissioners on the progress in a future meeting.

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A probation compliance check at a home in Starke County apparently revealed the presence of drugs.

Officers from the Starke County Probation Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Office conducted an early Tuesday morning compliance check at a home on W. Locust Drive in Knox. During a search of Brandon Davidson’s bedroom, officers reportedly discovered a white, powdery substance in a baggie which field tested positive for heroin, according to a release from the Starke County Probation Department.

Davidson was taken into custody and booked into the Starke County Justice Center on a preliminary felony charge of possession of a narcotic drug. He is also on a 15-day probation hold.

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Starke County EMS Director Travis Clary will soon have an ALS non-transport vehicle.

Clary previously told the Starke County Commissioners that he acquired a vehicle from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office to use as a department vehicle. He thought it could be transformed into an ALS non-transport vehicle to be used in case all other ambulances are busy. He could equip the vehicle with a cardiac monitor and necessary medications in order to respond to the scene and be of assistance right away until an ambulance can arrive on scene.

On Monday night, Clary said he submitted an application with the state in order to use the vehicle as an ALS non-transport vehicle which was subsequently approved. He added that he recently received the certification numbers for the vehicle.

(060618 clary…11 sec) “Once I have the vehicle painted and decaled, I need to place the equipment in the vehicle,” said Clary. “I will contact our state representative, Mike Fort, and he’ll come in and inspect it to make sure I have all of the appropriate equipment on there and we can place it in service.”

He hopes that the decals and paint can be done prior to the commissioner’s next meeting on June 18.

The car needs to be repainted as it’s a former squad car from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and a two-tone paint scheme is not lawful for use outside of a law enforcement capacity. He received three quotes and the commissioner approved the lowest quote from Patrick’s Auto Group at just over $2,000. That price includes repair to the front and rear bumpers, the replacement of a taillight and paint. Clary said the car will need to be decaled and he’s found prices to do that of about $200.

The commissioners will pay for the work to be done out of the Cumulative Capital Development Fund.

Clary noted that his vehicle will be an invaluable addition to the EMS Department.

(060618 clary 2…11 sec) “It will be a great addition to our community. We just had another incident today where all of the trucks were out and a possible heart attack call came in here in town. I could go there, but I didn’t have much equipment. Again, this is a great opportunity.”

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An Anderson man accused of striking a woman will have to face a jury of his peers in a trial set to begin in Starke Circuit Court today.

Zachary Christian, 27, was arrested on Feb. 7 of this year after he allegedly struck a woman while in an intoxicated state in a Starke County home and would not allow the victim to move from the couch during the incident. He reportedly had been drinking all day and physically responded when the victim declined his offer to go into the bedroom. Court documents also state that Christian attempted to take the victim’s phone from her while she was on the phone with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office asking for police assistance.

Police officers reportedly witnessed a portion of the alleged incident, according to court documents.

Christian faces a Level 6 felony charge of criminal confinement and Class A misdemeanor charges of domestic battery and interference with reporting a crime. At the time of his arrest, Christian also had two active arrest warrants out of Marion County.

Jury selection begins at 9 a.m. today in Starke Circuit Court. The trial is expected to take two days.

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A man wanted on an active warrant out of Pulaski County was taken into custody Wednesday morning.

Around 10:30 a.m. officers with the Indiana State Police, Knox City Police, and Starke County Sheriff’s Departments were on South Fisher Street in Knox, apprehending the subject.

According to Knox City Police Chief Harold Smith, 23-year-old Sammie Lee Marshall Jr. was reportedly seen walking and officers responded, as he was apparently known to have an active warrant for battery in a neighboring county.

Marshall has been lodged in Pulaski County Jail on a domestic battery charge. On Pulaski County Jail Tracker, June 1st is listed as the offense date. ISP is mentioned as the arresting agency and Jim E. Strong was the arresting officer.

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Zachary Christian has been found guilty of domestic battery, but not the Level 6 felony charge of criminal confinement, according to the Starke County Prosecutor’s Office. Christian was accused of hitting a woman, refusing to let her move from a couch, and trying to take her phone when she tried to call police, in an incident back in February.

But during a jury trial in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday, the complaining witness denied anything criminal had happened, according to a Prosecutor’s Office press release. Meanwhile, Officer Dave Vinson with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department reportedly testified that he walked in on the domestic battery taking place. The 911 call was also admitted as part of the trial.

The Prosecutor’s Office says the jury took less than an hour to return a guilty verdict for the Class A misdemeanor of domestic battery. However, Christian was found not guilty of the Class A misdemeanor charge of interference with the reporting of a crime and the felony charge of confinement.

Christian was sentenced to eight months in the Starke County Justice Center. But the press release noted that he’s been in custody since February and therefore has time served.

He’ll now be sent to Marion County, where he’s wanted for battery by means of a deadly weapon and child molesting.

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Two people were arrested Thursday morning after an officer with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop.

Officers pulled over a car driven by 29-year-old Michael Allen of Winamac on Toto Road just west of U.S. 35 in Knox. According to information from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, police found Allen was reportedly driving the vehicle under the influence of narcotics. He was then placed into lawful custody.

Allen was booked into the Starke County Justice Center on preliminary misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, possession of a schedule II controlled substance and driving while suspended.

A passenger in the vehicle, 24-year-old Ashley N. Young of North Judson, was taken into custody on a preliminary misdemeanor charge of possession of a schedule II controlled substance. Young faces an additional felony trafficking charge after she reportedly brought narcotics into the jail in her underwear.

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An off-road vehicle crash near Bass Lake claimed the life of an Illinois man over the weekend. Indiana Conservation Officers say it happened in the 5500 block of South Starke County Road 700 East.

They believe David Blessing, 49, of Tinley Park, was heading north in a 2017 Polaris side-by-side vehicle, with part of it on the road and part in the grass. Officers think the vehicle rolled on top of Blessing when he encountered a sudden drop-off where a culvert passes under the road.

A passerby reportedly called police just after midnight Saturday morning, after noticing the vehicle and what appeared to be a person underneath it. Starke County Police arrived and found Blessing dead. Indiana Conservation Officers were then called to the scene. The Bass Lake Fire Department, Starke County Coroner’s Office, and Tinley Park Police Department also assisted.

Conservation Officers say the incident remains under investigation.

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Three people were arrested on Wednesday, July 18 after an investigation conducted by members of the Knox City Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Office.

Knox City Police Chief Harold Smith said the investigation lasted several months and it focused on the suspicion of methamphetamine trafficking in the Knox city limits and in the surrounding areas of Starke County.

Once officers gathered enough information to present as probable cause for a warrant, one was issued. A search warrant was executed around 3:30 a.m. that day at a home in the 800 block of Lake Street.

As a result, Michael Campbell Sr., Michael Campbell Jr. and Carrie Shidler were taken into custody and booked into the Starke County Justice Center on preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of paraphernalia.

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Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin hopes to hire more road officers in order to provide the best public safety.

“If you go by the FBI standards, there’s a percentage they use where there should be 1.5 officers for every 2,000 citizens. We have 25,000 citizens in Starke County. We have 12 officers. Excluding the administration, that leaves us with 10 road officers and that’s including detectives. By the FBI standards we’re supposed to have 24,” explained Dulin.

He hopes to work with the county council to hire at least five new officers in a three-year or five-year plan. Dulin says that will cut down on the overtime pay.

“When we’re working with lower staff it’s cutting into our overtime budget and we do compensation hours. To honor that, we have to pay for part-time employees to cover that shift. Our overtime budget and part-time budget are depleted and it’s the 8th month of the year.”

Dulin commented that he understands that the department needs to work within a budget, but the demand for the officers is there.

“The need is more so now than it’s ever been. The calls have gone up probably 25 to 30 percent in the past two years. We average about 10 to 15 overdoses a month and probably between two and three fatality overdoses a month. We lead the state per capita with heroin overdoses and that’s a badge I’m not willing to wear.”

The sheriff said there is some work that can be done within the budget and he will continue to work with the Starke County Commissioners and Starke County Council members to work on the goal of hiring additional officers.

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A two-vehicle accident involving a passenger car and a police vehicle took place on Saturday in front of the Knox VFW.

Around 12 p.m. on August 4th, Knox City Police Sergeant Chad Dulin was conducting an escort for vehicles leaving the VFW.

A crash report indicates that Sgt. Dulin had his emergency red and blue lights on as he pulled out of the VFW southbound onto Heaton Street (US 35). He was traveling in the right-hand lane when he began to turn left to block off northbound traffic and was struck by an oncoming passenger vehicle that failed to yield.

The vehicle that struck the police car was a gray 2017 Ford Fusion driven by 23-year-old Amanda Zehner, of Knox. She was traveling southbound on Heaton Street when she observed the fully marked police vehicle with its lights on, in the lane next to her.

According to the crash report, she stated that she thought the police vehicle was going to continue driving southbound on Heaton rather than turning, which is what reportedly caused the collision.

Officials report that Zehner experienced neck pain but refused treatment and 39-year-old Dulin suffered from head pain after the crash and was transported from the scene with incapacitating injuries.

Both motorists were wearing their seatbelts at the time. Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in this incident, according to the crash report. More details will be provided as they become available.

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While the Knox Community School Corporation would like to add a school resource officer, funding isn’t available at this point. That’s what School Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart told the school board Tuesday.

The topic had been listed as a business item on the advance meeting agenda, but no action was taken. “We don’t need to vote on that at this point in time,” Reichhart said, “but publicly, we just want to say that Knox Community Schools is in favor of hiring a school resource officer for our district, and at this time, funding is unavailable.”

Over the past few months, Reichhart had been discussing the idea with Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin. “We are willing to do our share,” Reichhart said, “but right now, we have not been able to get a commitment from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, to commit to funding that position at the present time.”

Sheriff Dulin previously told WKVI News that he discussed possible funding arrangements with Reichhart and that he was of the understanding that the school corporation had some grant funding available. Knox Schools was recently awarded a $50,000 Secured School Safety Matching Grant to help pay for a new fire/surveillance system at the high school.

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The Knox Community School Corporation is still looking for ways to add a school resource officer, even after the Starke County Sheriff’s Department was unable to secure funding. During Tuesday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart said he and other school officials are now exploring whether the City of Knox could step in. 

“School Board President Gary] Dulin, myself, Chief [Harold] Smith, and the mayor of Knox, Dennis Estok, met in the mayor’s office and discussed whether or not the city would like to try and fund this position,” Reichhart said. “And we made a proposal to them, and we are waiting right now to hear back, as to whether or not they could help us out with the school resource officer.”

During the discussions with the Sheriff’s Department, the proposal was to share the cost between the two entities. But Sheriff Bill Dulin’s request for funding was apparently denied by the county council.

An Illinois man faces charges in an alleged sexual assault incident in Starke County.

A Starke County Sheriff’s Office report states that a juvenile girl staying at a campground in Knox was sexually assaulted on Oct. 13. After officers collected taped forensic interviews of the victim and the suspect, 26-year-old Nicholas Oshea was arrested on preliminary charges of Rape, a Level 3 Felony, Sexual Battery, a Level 6 Felony, and a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Oshea is being held in the Starke County Justice Center on a $250,000 bond.

A man who reportedly fought a K9 is in the Starke County Justice Center.

According to the Starke County Sheriff’s Office, on Tuesday, Nov. 6 deputies received information that 36-year-old Mauro Zuniga was at a home in Knox. He was reportedly known to have outstanding felony warrants. Officers were told there were other people at a home where a firearm was present.

The Starke County SWAT team arrived at the home south of Knox and all police officers there approached the residence. A Knox City Police officer reportedly witnessed Zuniga through a window. Police contacted the homeowner, but he allegedly refused to allow police inside the residence. Police say that because Zuniga was seen by an officer and he has known felony warrants, they made entry into the home.

Three individuals began to flee, according to the report. Two were taken into custody without incident while two fled upstairs.

K9 Zardoz was brought into the house to help search for the individuals. The report states that a false wall was found which led to an attic. Police reportedly announced their presence three times. They were urged to surrender or K9 Zardoz would be sent in. Police say the orders were not followed and K9 Zardoz made entry into the attic.

The K9 located Zuniga who then began to fight with the K9. However, K9 Zardoz was able to take him into custody.

Zuniga was transported to Starke Hospital in Knox for treatment and later released into the custody of the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. He remains in the Starke County Justice Center on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and battery on a law enforcement officer. He is also being held on several warrants.

Three others were arrested in the incident. Brian Callahan, Natasha Bradley, and Michael Tolson of Knox have a preliminary charge of resisting law enforcement.