Police officers in Starke County will have quicker access to data stored on cell phones thanks to a software grant received by the Knox City Police Department. Det. Sgt. Dave Combs says it will save considerable time when it comes to investigations.

Currently he says they either have to go through phones screen by screen and take at least a couple hundred photos per phone or send them off to the Indiana State Police lab in Lowell to extract information from the phone. That can take up to six months, depending on the workload of the pathologist.

Combs heads up the Major Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of officers from the city police and Starke County Sheriff’s Offices, and says they will split the remaining $3,100 software cost. The departments will share the tool. Plans call for two city officers and one county detective to be certified to use it.

Combs adds the software will bypass PIN code protected cell phones, once a search warrant is obtained.

“It’ll analyze everything from browsing history to text messages, phone logs, call logs – basically everything you do on your phone. There’s some technical jargon. It does this all forensically where it shows where the files are extracted from, so everything is usable in court.”

The data is then dumped onto an electronic storage device for use by the police and courts.

The Starke County Major Crimes Task Force investigates felony level narcotics cases and conducts full investigations into overdose-related deaths.

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Counterfeit bills in varying denominations have turned up in bank deposits from multiple Starke County businesses this week, according to officials with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. They were notified after bogus $5, $20 and $50 bills were discovered.

Businesses and consumers are urged to examine their cash closely. Special marking pens can be used to detect phony money. They mark yellow on real currency and black on fakes. However one of the bills that came through a local bank reportedly passed the marker test.

Another way to authenticate money is to hold it up to the light and verify it has a security strip and hologram of the President’s face on the right side of the bill. Curious currency can also be brought to any local bank branch for examination.

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Formal charges are pending against an Ora man who fled from Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputies on a 4-wheeler yesterday afternoon. The incident started around 4:30 p.m. in the area of 500 North west of U.S. 35 in Pulaski County when deputy tried to stop the ATV, driven by 43-year-old James Hurt of Ora. He took off and later crashed the 4-wheeler in the area of 100 West and 600 North in Pulaski County, where he took off on foot.

Deputies from the Pulaski and Starke County Sheriff’s Offices responded, including Starke County K-9 Terror and his handler, Det. Sgt. Rob Olejniczak. While preparing for the search, Terror accidentally bit Pulaski County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Boyer, according to Sheriff Jeff Richwine.

Boyer was taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital and airlifted to Fort Wayne, where he was listed in stable condition late last night.

Pulaski and Starke County Deputies arrested Hurt at a residence in Starke County last night. He was booked into the Pulaski County Jail on a charge of resisting arrest, with additional charges anticipated.

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A 47-year-old Knox man faces a possession of child pornography charge. Officers from the Knox Police Department and Starke County Sheriff’s Office arrested Terry Reising yesterday. They executed search warrants on his home and vehicle and reportedly turned up pornographic photos of children.

The Starke County Major Crimes Unit is still investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Knox Police Department at 574-772-4122.

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Starke County Jail inmates who are awaiting sentencing will soon have access to voluntary drug treatment while they are locked up. The county recently got a grant from the Indiana Department of Correction to add a local program.

Porter-Starke Services addictions counselor Leo Smith says criminal behavior and substance abuse go hand-in-hand.

“Probably 80 percent or so of people incarcerated have an identifiable substance abuse problem, so we want to tackle that part,’ Smith told the county commissioners. “Part of the treatment program is about letting them identify what it is they’re dealing with and how they can deal with it when they get out of there.”

He adds the goal is to help people learn to stay clean and sober and to quit reoffending in order to reduce recidivism through the intensive outpatient program.

Basic addiction identification will be covered, along with relapse prevention triggers for both addiction and criminal addictive thinking. Smith says addressing those issues are critical components of treatment.

Smith plans to conduct two to three groups per week of male and female inmates. He adds treatment doesn’t stop in jail.

“A lot of times people think they get a paper and they’re fixed. Well, we want to take it from the jail into services and keep that continuum of treatment where this person has an opportunity to step out and actually follow up with not coming back.”

Porter-Starke Services will work closely with Starke County Community Corrections and the probation department to ensure inmates continue treatment after they get out of jail. Aftercare components include individual, family and group therapy.

The drug treatment program will formally launch as soon as a memorandum of understanding between Porter-Starke Services and Starke County is signed.

The local program is in addition to the Department of Correction Therapeutic Community that is also housed at the Starke County Jail. It’s for inmates who have been sentenced to the intensive inpatient drug treatment program and is the first of its kind not housed in a prison. The therapeutic community inmates are housed in a separate area of the jail and are not mixed with the county population.

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A Knox man and woman are jailed on drug charges following an investigation by the Starke County Major Crimes Unit. Officers from the Knox Police Department and Starke County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at an Allen Drive residence in Knox on Thursday. They found illegal narcotics and chemicals used to make methamphetamine, according to the incident report.

The occupants, 23-year-old Austin Steger and 22-year-old Kaylene Steger, both of Knox, were arrested. They face charges of manufacturing methamphetamine, illegal drug lab, possession of a narcotic drug and maintaining a common nuisance.

A small child was in the home, so the Indiana Department of Child Services was notified. The Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team also assisted.

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The Starke County Council will conduct a couple of budget hearings and consider several requests for funds when they meet this evening. The Starke County, North Judson-San Pierre School Corporation and Solid Waste budgets are all on the agenda for the 5:30 p.m. session. So is discussion of a possible payroll increase of between 1 and 2 percent in the Starke County budget.

EMS Director Keith Emigh  will ask the council for permission to purchase a new ambulance with additional funding. The county’s fleet has experienced numerous mechanical problems of late.

The council will also discuss a budget for courthouse security workers and entertain a request from CASA Director Rhonda Adcock to increase that program’s budget.

Sheriff Bill Dulin will request an appropriation of riverboat money and the county corrections annual deposit, and the council will divide up probation user fees so money is deposited into the county’s general fund to pay for state mandated probation salaries.

The Starke County Commissioners meeting will follow the council session. They’re meeting jointly with the building corporation to discuss the result of courthouse asbestos bids. The commissioners will also consider a request from Pulaski County Economic Development Director Nathan P. Origer to use between three and four miles of Starke County roads as a bicycle trail. Bids for a county coroner’s building will also be discussed.

Both meetings will take place at the county annex building.

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Starke County Jail inmates who are awaiting trial on drug offenses now have access to a treatment program. It launched last week and is led by Porter-Starke Services substance abuse counselor Leo Smith. Sheriff Bill Dulin says it’s separate from the Department of Corrections Therapeutic Community.

The local program can accommodate a total of 24 inmates–18 males and six females–and is entirely voluntary.

If participants bond out are released, Dulin says the program is designed to transition to Porter-Starke’s intensive outpatient program and continue through probation and Community Corrections.

He adds between 80 and 90 percent of offenders awaiting trial are in jail for some type of drug-related crime. Dulin hopes offering access to treatment will reduce recidivism rates. Realistically he hopes to cut that rate by between 10 and 20 percent. Even though the program just launched, he says it’s been a work in progress for quite some time.

“Warden Phil Cherry, Starke County Probation, Starke County Community Corrections—it’s been probably two-and-a-half years in the making. It’s something that I feel strongly about. Starke County is known for the drug problem, but a lot of other counties have the same problem, too. We’re not just isolated here in Starke County or Knox.”

Program participants meet together three days a week for a few hours a day. The 40 or so inmates who expressed an interest in the program were screened by Porter-Starke, and the list was pared down to accommodate the 24 available slots.

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The Starke County Sheriff’s Office is in the running for an award from the Indiana Department of Correction for an innovative new program. The inaugural jail garden, known as the Starke County F.A.R.M. is nominated for a People’s Choice Award from the Cultivating Community Gardens with the I.D.O.C. program.

Voting is taking place on Facebook , and Sheriff Bill Dulin encourages Starke County residents to vote multiple times for the local project between now and Dec. 12.

F.A.R.M. is an acronym for Fostering A Recovery Mentality. Inmates at the jail worked alongside staff in the garden on the jail property. They planted two gardens and built two greenhouses, where flowers were grown and distributed to nursing homes and businesses in Starke County free of charge.

The gardens themselves yielded more than 3,900 pounds of produce. Dulin says about 70 percent of that was used within the jail to supplement meals served to inmates. The rest was given to nursing homes and local food pantries.

He adds the greenhouses are now being prepared for winter seedlings of vegetables and flowers to be planted in late January and can now be used to their full capacity.

“The program has been a HUGE positive experience, not only for the offenders but for the staff as well, giving them an opportunity to interact at a different level in a different setting outside the walls of the Justice Center,” Dulin said.

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Officers from the Starke County Major Crimes Unit served two warrants and made three meth-related arrests Thursday morning at a North Judson residence.

The officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Knox City Police had warrants for 34-year-old Joshua and 34-year-old Sandra Howard. They found them at a camper in the 2000 west block of Julia Drive, according to the incident report.

They also found 28-year-old Adam Lovely at the residence.

The officers received consent to search the trailer and reportedly found itemsm to manufacture methamphetamine, HCL generators, a one-pot meth lab, finished methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription pills and paraphernalia.

Joshua and Sandra Howard face preliminary charges of maintaining a common nuisance and possession of paraphernalia and are being held without bond at this time. Adam Lovely faces preliminary charges of manufacturing and possession of methamphetamine and visiting a common nuisance.

Officers from the Starke County Major Crimes Unit were assisted by the Indiana State Police Methamphetamine Suppression Team.

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A North Judson woman is in jail after officers from the Starke County Major Crimes Unit conducted a drug investigation at a rural residence Thursday afternoon. They found 46-year-old Angela May at the home in the 1000 West block of 250 South, according to the incident report.

They got a search warrant for the property and reportedly found items used to make methamphetamine, HCL generators, an active one-pot meth lab, meth an paraphernalia.

May faces preliminary charges of manufacturing meth, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of meth and possession of paraphernalia. She is currently being held without bond.

Officers from the North Judson Police Department and Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Team assisted the Major Crimes Unit.

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A Knox man is jailed on drug charges following an investigation by the Starke County Major Crimes Unit.

Officers from the Knox Police Department executed a search warrant at a residence in the 400 South block of Roosevelt Road yesterday based on information the owner had been dealing in methamphetamine.

During the search, officers reportedly found methamphetamine, scales and packaging products for the drug.

The owner, 49-year-old Dino McCay of Knox, was arrested. He faces charges of Dealing Methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony; Possession of Methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; and Maintaining a Common Nuisance, a Level 6 felony.

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Indiana Department of Natural Resources assisted the Knox Police Department in executing the search warrant.

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The Indiana State Police are investigating a police-involved shooting in Starke County. It happened this morning in the parking lot of the former Bailey’s Furniture Store on U.S. 35 south of Knox. Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin tells WKVI News ISP was called in to investigate because officers from both Starke County and the Knox Police Department were involved.

There’s no word on what prompted the shooting, how many people were involved or their conditions. Dulin says additional information will be released after the Indiana State Police investigation is complete.

We will update this story as official information becomes available.

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A Plymouth man who tried unsuccessfully to run from police in Starke County is dead following a police-involved shooting. The incident happened around 9:15 a.m. today, according to the Indiana State Police. They were called in to investigate since deputies from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Knox City Police Department were involved.

According to the ISP, the local officers were trying to serve a felony warrant at Bailey’s Furniture, located just south of Toto Road on U.S. 35. In the process of the warrant service, investigators say a black GMC pickup truck drove through the closed garage door of the business and struck a marked Starke County Sheriff’s patrol car. The GMC driver then tried to run over another officer while attempting to flee.

That’s when officers fired their weapons, striking the truck and the driver, who was the sole occupant. He was taken to Starke Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The driver is identified as 46-year-old William R. Newman of Plymouth. The names of the officers involved have not been released. Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin told WKVI News none of them were injured.

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An investigation into alleged methamphetamine manufacture in Pulaski County resulted in three arrests. Deputies from the Starke and Pulaski County Sheriff’s Departments executed a search warrant at a residence near 200 East and 500 North in Winamac on Thursday. Their investigation was prompted by information about individuals buying items used to manufacture methamphetamine.

The deputies reportedly found items used to make methamphetamine and a one-pot meth lab in and around a camper parked on the property, according to the incident report.

They arrested 48-year-old James Daniel, 29-year-old James Ritenour III and 25-year-old Ariel Baugh, all of Winamac.

The Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team was called in to assist with the cleanup of the site.

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The Indiana State Police have released more information in last week’s fatal, police-involved Starke County shooting.

William R. Newman, 46, of Plymouth had an active Fulton County warrant for failure to appear for dealing methamphetamine and was also wanted for a parole violation by the Indiana State Parole Board.

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and Knox City Police Department were trying to serve a felony warrant at Bailey’s Furniture, located just south of Toto Road on U.S. 35 last Wednesday morning.

In the process of the warrant service, investigators say a black GMC pickup truck drove through the closed garage door of the business and struck a marked Starke County Sheriff’s patrol car. The GMC driver then tried to run over another officer while attempting to flee.

That’s when officers fired their weapons, striking the truck and the driver, who was the sole occupant. He was taken to Starke Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

According to the Indiana State Police, Knox City Police Chief Harold Smith, Cpl. Chad Dulin and Detective Donald Ferguson with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office were involved in the shooting. The three have a combined 40 years of law enforcement service. None of the officers were injured.

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A Knox man faces numerous charges following a Thursday incident that started in Washington Township and ended in North Judson after a detour through the Bass Lake area.

Knox Police were involved in a chase in the area of 500 East and State Road 8 after Starke County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to an invasion of privacy call. They found the suspect’s black 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck heading west into Knox on State Road 8. KPD officers used stop sticks to deflate one of the truck’s tires. The driver continued on for several miles before crashing the truck into a yard at 8460 East State Road 10 in Knox and fleeing on foot.

Later that morning, the Starke County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a stolen car in the area where the crash had occurred. They followed up on a tip and found the suspect, William Allen II of Knox, at a residence in North Judson and arrested him.

He’s jailed on preliminary felony charges of resisting law enforcement and criminal recklessness along with a misdemeanor reckless driving offense from the pursuit in addition to invasion of privacy and criminal mischief charges from the initial complaint.

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A Tuesday fight at a North Judson residence led to the fatal stabbing of a man, according to officials with the Starke County Sheriff’s Office.

Dispatchers got a 911 call around 8:30 p.m. regarding a white man who had been stabbed in the 4400 block of Dawn Drive. They found the victim on the ground a short distance from the residence bleeding from a chest wound. He was taken to Starke Hospital, where he died from his injury.

Investigators believe 31-year-old Matthew Shultz stabbed the victim with a hunting knife with a serrated blade. He surrendered without incident a short time later and was taken to the Starke County Justice Center.

Formal charges are pending. The victim’s name has not been released, pending next of kin notification.

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The Starke County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal shooting. It happened around 7:30 p.m. Friday in the 1400 block of 400 South in North Judson. Sheriff Bill Dulin tells WKVI News one man is dead. His name has not been released, pending family notification. Dulin says the department has suspects and is currently investigating leads to locate them. There is no known motive at this time.

This is a developing story. WKVI News will provide updates as information becomes available.

Starke County Police say two suspects have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a Knox man Friday evening. 

Police were called to the 1400 block of West 400 South shortly after 6:30 p.m. When officers arrived, they say they found a man, later identified as Cord Colgrove, 35, of Knox, who had sustained a single gunshot to the face.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Office says Edward Shea Blackburn, 30, and Augusta Hadden, 39, of Knox have both been arrested in connection with the shooting.