Community corrections put on hold

No one will be sentenced to Kosciusko County Community Corrections for the next 30 days.

That was unanimously decided at a special meeting of the KCCC Advisory Board Thursday after a recommendation from KCCC Interim Director Barry Andrew.

Andrew, who’s been with the probation department since 2003, was appointed to the position Nov. 19 after former director Anna Bailey resigned.

The circumstances surrounding her resignation are not clear, but Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Hampton said the situation is under investigation.

Andrew requested the 30-day suspension of any new or external transfers to the KCCC program in order to re-evaluate some things, he said.

“So we can move foward in a positive direction. A lot of things we’ve discovered weren’t being done properly,” Andrew said.

He told the board, which consists of Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed, Kosciusko Superior Court I Judge David Cates, Kosciusko Superior Court II Judge Torrey Bauer, Hampton and local attorney Tony Garza, that he believes the 30 days will give the program “room to breathe” while they try to build a stronger foundation that will include properly training the current staff.

“We can continue to monitor what we have with the staff we have, but I think there are things that need to be looked at so that we ensure the correct population of folks are being placed on home detention,”?Andrew said.

There are about 127 people serving their sentences through KCCC, with a staff of three full-time home detention officers and one full-time drug court case manager.

Cates asked Andrew if it becomes necessary to sentence someone to KCCC, specifically juveniles, within the next 30 days, is that possible. Andrew said they would accommodate the courts.

Applications are being taken for the position. After the job posting closes, the executive board will take them under advisement and beigin planning interviews, Reed said.

Man charged after threats to WPD chief

A man who threatened to beat up Warsaw Police Chief Scott Whitaker is in jail.

William Burn Howard, 49, Rensselaer, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 2:13 a.m. Thursday for intimidation to a law enforcement officer and intimidation, both Level 6 felonies.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday in Kosciusko Superior Court III, on Monday, Howard called Whitaker and accused him of harassing his ex-wife, who is an employee at WPD. Howard then “advised he is coming to get Chief Whitaker and he’s coming on Friday.” Court papers state that Howard appears to be angry because Whitaker “arrested him in 2006 and harassed him in 2016.”

“William Howard further states he is impeaching Chief Whitaker and wants his resignation and Chief Whitaker needs protection from him. He advised he is a MMA fighter and if Chief Whitaker files anything on him, Chief Whitaker will know what the wrath of god feels like,” the probable cause affidavit states.

The man’s ex-wife had a protective order against Howard, but it recently expired.

On Tuesday, Howard again phoned Whitaker and stated “he is filing a declaration of extraction due to the endangerment of (his ex-wife) by her driving a car. Chief Whitaker needs to get to kicking and remove his stuff out of the office.” Howard also tells Whitaker that he will hand the declaration of extraction to Whitaker no later than today, according to court papers.

At 10:36 p.m. Tuesday, Howard phoned Whitaker and said, “this is your worse nightmare, get out of there because Michael William Howard is coming in. Do you understand what a tap out is? I’m going to take your god d*** breath away, f****** 10 seconds,” court papers state. Howard continues that he is going to “put the f****** life, take it out of you at 480 knots over light speeds, get out of my office.”

Court papers indicate that Howard is yelling into the phone and speaking in a threatening manner.

At 4:41 a.m. Wednesday, Howard then calls County Dispatch and tells a dispatcher that there’s going to be an emergency call for his ex-wife and other members of his family.

“He advised he has an infrared dot on her head and wants her to go to his family’s residence and make sure they are alive. He advised he sees what she’s doing right now,” the affidavit reads. Howard then tells the dispatcher that she better hurry because “he’s about to squeeze his finger.”

Howard is ordered to have no contact with Whitaker.

His bond was set at $11,000.

Teen sentenced on voyeurism charges

The 19-year-old Ohio man who tricked Grace College women into putting a camera in a bathroom was sentenced Thursday.

Gavin Reeves was convicted in Kosciusko Superior Court I on four counts of voyeurism, Level 6 felonies, and given a year per felony, to run concurrently, and all suspended to formal probation as part of a plea agreement.

Part of the plea agreement states that, upon successful completion of his sentence, Reeves may petition the court to modify the felony conviction to a misdemeanor.

On July 5, 2018, Grace College Campus Safety was notified that there was a hidden camera that recorded video and audio in a dorm room bathroom on the campus and also in the bedroom of a female student. The device recorded four separate female students undressing over a period of time, court papers state.

Winona Lake police determined on Jan. 30 that Reeves had given the recording device to one of the women and told her “it was a motion-activated air freshener he was working on. He stated that the device would collect motion so he could determine the settings for the air freshener. He requested that she place the device in the dorm room bathroom.”

Reeves was ordered to have no contact with the four victims in the case.

Driver charged following fatal accident

The driver who struck and killed a construction worker in Syracuse in July is being charged with his death.

A warrant was issued Dec. 6 for the arrest of Joshua E. Ratliff, 33, of 7232 E. CR 650N, North Webster, to face a charge of operating a vehicle causing death, with a controlled substance in the body, a Level 4 felony. Court papers state Ratliff’s blood draw tested positive for methamphetamine.

At approximately 2 p.m. July 26, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a fatal crash on Ind. 13 near Waco Drive in Syracuse.

Ben Fisher, 29, of Plymouth, was working for Traffic Control Specialists Inc., based in Knox, and was removing road construction signs along Ind. 13 in a utility pole project area. Fisher and his co-worker were loading the signs into a Chevrolet Silverado that was parked facing south along the west side of Ind. 13.

The preliminary investigation at the time by police indicated Fisher was struck by a Ford F-150 pickup truck, driven by Ratliff, while Fisher was walking along the driver’s side of the Silverado. After the initial collision, Fisher was thrown into the driver’s side of the Silverado.

Fisher’s co-worker was pushed by the Silverado into the ditch and refused medical treatment. Ratliff did not complain of any injuries.

Fisher was pronounced dead at the scene by the Kosciusko County Coroner’s Office. Kosciusko County Coroner Tony Ciriello said Fisher died of blunt force traumatic injuries.

Traffic Control Specialists Inc. had no comment when contacted by the Times-Union.

Warsaw man dies in car-train crash

LIGONIER – A Warsaw man was killed Wednesday in Noble County after he tried to beat a train.

William Sanford, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Noble County Coroner’s Office, according to a Noble County Sheriff’s Office news release.

The crash occurred at approximately 10:52 p.m. Wednesday at Perry Road at the Norfolk Southern Railroad Crossing, west of Gerber Street, in Ligonier.

Upon arrival, deputies and Ligonier police officers located an Amtrak train stopped on the tracks and a single vehicle that appeared to have been struck by the train.

Preliminary investigation determined that the 2008 Mercury Milan, driven by Sanford, was traveling west on Perry Road when, for an unknown reason, Sanford attempted to cross the railroad tracks in front of an oncoming train, resulting in the car being struck by the train.

No other injuries were reported by staff or passengers of the Amtrak train, the news release states. A Ligonier Police Department drone unit arrived at the scene and flew the area to ensure there were no additional victims. It was determined Sanford was the only occupant of the vehicle.

Noble County deputies were assisted by the Indiana State Police, Ligonier Police Department, Ligonier Fire Department, Norfolk Southern Railroad Police Department, Amtrak Railroad Police Department, Parkview EMS, Noble County Coroner’s Office and Leatherman’s Towing.

Further investigations will be completed by Norfolk Southern Railroad Police Department and Amtrak Police Department.

Man seeks loan, steals iPhone instead

An Auburn man who got rejected for a  payday loan allegedly stole the employee’s iPhone instead.

Patrick Shane Davidson, 41, was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday and faces a Level 6 felony theft charge.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed Nov. 13 in Kosciusko Superior Court III, on Oct. 24 Warsaw police spoke with a woman who was working at a business that provided loans. She told police she was working near the front of the store where she had her iPhone near her.

The woman began helping Davidson, according to court papers, and during the course of helping him was told by another employee that Davidson had already been denied a loan because he did not have proper identification and that his employment history was questionable.

When the woman went to do another background check on Davidson, court papers state she could not find her phone. Then, Davidson “began to act suspicious and stated he needed to leave. He then left the store without hearing if his loan application was approved.”

Video footage from the store’s security cameras showed Davidson taking the woman’s phone, according to court papers. When the woman turned on the “Find my iPhone” app, it said the phone was in Auburn.

Davidson’s bond was set at $6,000.