Court Stories Lead Voting For Top News Of 2019
December 30, 2019 at 11:15 p.m.
By David [email protected]
First there was the anticipated trial of Alyssa Shepherd, the driver in the fatal 2018 accident that claimed the lives of three Tippecanoe Valley students and injured a fourth. Then there was the ongoing fairgrounds racing lawsuit, which looks like it might continue to make headlines in 2020.
Those two stories and eight more make up the top stories of 2019, as voted on by the staff of the Times-Union.
They are:
Shepherd Trial
1. Testimony began at 8:54 a.m. Oct. 16 in Fulton County Superior Court for the trial of Shepherd, who was accused of hitting four children, killing three of them, as they boarded a school bus in October 2018. She faced three charges of reckless homicide, Level 5 felonies; passing a school bus with the arm extended where bodily injury results, a Class A misdemeanor; and criminal recklessness committing aggressive driving resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 6 felony.
Killed were 9-year-old Alivia Stahl; her 6-year-old twin brothers, Mason and Xzavier Ingle; and 11-year-old Maverik Lowe was severely injured.
After almost three hours of deliberation, the jury found Shepherd guilty on all five counts. However, on Dec. 18 Fulton Superior Court Judge Greg Heller handed her a 10-year sentence, which angered many people, including Brittany Ingle, the mother of the children killed, who lunged at Shepherd and made contact. Ingle was arrested for misdemeanor battery.
Racing Lawsuit
2. While the lawsuit regarding motorized racing at the fairgrounds started in 2018, it really ramped up in 2019 after mediation failed in December 2018.
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by a handful of neighbors after they claimed motorized racing started back up, despite a 1990 settlement that prevented it, and their attempt to send a cease-and-desist was unsuccessful. It led to a court injunction that halted motorized racing as the suit played out in court.
In September 2019, Special Judge Stephen Bowers granted the plaintiffs’ (homeowners’) request for a permanent injunction to stop motorized racing at the fairgrounds and uphold a 1990 settlement agreement halting racing.
The fair board announced they would appeal the decision, as the fair was fighting for its “survival.”
Child Fatal
3. On June 10, 8-year-old Gidieon Cook was killed by a vehicle while he was crossing Husky Trail at North Pointe Drive to get to Harrison Elementary School.
During the police’s investigation, it was determined at one point that 24-year-old Raven L. Loubert, of Tippecanoe, operating a black 2008 Nissan Sentra, had come to a stop on North Pointe Drive, preparing to make a left turn onto Husky Trail to travel north. It was during this left turn that she struck Cook, who was in the crosswalk crossing Husky Trail.
A very well-attended vigil was held for Cook near where he was killed. City Council candidate Sara McNeal Strahan-Lenfestey voiced her concern about Husky Trail to the Warsaw Traffic Commission, and the city and Warsaw Schools worked together to address pedestrian safety at the intersection, including crosswalk signals. Police launched extra patrols as the 2019-20 school year got underway, and not just at Harrison Elementary.
In October, it was announced a grand jury had been convened on the death of Cook and decided on no indictment for the offense of reckless homicide would be issued in the case. Cook’s family was notified of the jury’s decision prior to the announcement.
Owen’s Closing
4. Stores open and close, but some have more impact than others because of the void they leave behind.
Such could be said of the “old” Owen’s store, which was located at 302 W. Market St. in Warsaw. Because it shut its doors, residents on the south side of town say there’s a “food desert” with no grocery stores nearby to do all their shopping. The residents at Retired Tigers can no longer walk a couple of blocks down the road to grab a few supplies.
In a news release provided in late February, Kroger’s Central Division announced the decision and said company leaders attribute the closing to the store’s ongoing poor financial performance.
“Kroger has long monitored operations, hoping the store could return to reliable profitability; however, the latest evaluations suggest such improvement is no longer realistic. Therefore, the store will close within 30 days,” the release stated.
Warsaw customers still can shop at the Owen’s at 2211 E. Center St. Parent company Kroger invested more than $4 million at that store to provide a new look and larger selection to serve all Kosciusko County shoppers.
City officials, including Mayor Joe Thallemer, tried to meet with Kroger officials to keep the old Owen’s open, but to no avail.
Clase Retires
5. Longtime county animal control officer Jerry Clase retired in October after approximately 30 years, but not before a controversy kept his name in the headlines.
Clase was suspended for five days without pay July 23 by the Kosciusko County commissioners following a June 19 dog-shooting incident.
Etna Green resident Sherry Koser alleged that on June 19 Clase stole her dog, Daisy Mae, from her garage and shot it while she was at work. However, Koser’s landlord gave authorization for Clase to enter the property and take the dog, which was suffering from a ruptured mammary tumor. An inquiry into the incident by Indiana State Police and Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton found Clase had broken no laws.
Protesters came to several county commissioners meetings and aired their grievances.
Koser was arrested in September on a single count of cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office now handles animal control for the county.
Titus Death
6. The town of Winona Lake lost its longtime fire chief, Mitch Titus, when he died May 5 from injuries suffered May 3 in a work-related accident at G & G Hauling & Excavating on CR 150W.
Titus served 12 years as chief.
“I’ve seen his whole firefighting career and he is, to describe him, dedicated is the best word. He was dedicated to the fire service. He grew to his position as a chief, went up the ranks,” Winona Lake firefighter Mike Cox said at the time. “He really put everything into fire service, not just in Winona Lake but countywide.”
His funeral was held at Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, with burial in Oakwood Cemetery. The funeral procession for Titus included a number of emergency vehicles passing under a flag.
Third District U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, gave a speech on the House floor honoring Titus.
The Winona Lake Town Council honored Titus at its June meeting, with Titus’ family presented a golden ax and a photo of Titus that held his place during council meetings since his death.
Kevin Gelbaugh eventually took over as Winona Lake Fire Department chief.
Dukes As Sheriff
7. Kyle Dukes’ first year as county sheriff had its ups and downs, which kept his name and the department in the news.
Dukes was elected sheriff in the November 2018 general election, defeating three others, including incumbent Rocky Goshert.
One of his first orders of business was to hire a new jail commander, Shane Coney, who came from the Noble County Sheriff’s Office. Coney replaced Mike Mulligan in that position. Coney was named in a wrongful death lawsuit after an inmate at the Noble County Jail hanged himself Oct. 4, 2017.
Former KCSO deputy Chris Rager filed notice with the county in September that he planned to file suit against Sheriff Kyle Dukes for retaliation and defamation. The notice of tort claim was sent June 25 by Rager's attorney Daniel Pfeifer, of Pfeifer, Morgan & Stesiak, South Bend, to Dukes, County Council President Sue Ann Mitchell and County Commissioners President Cary Groninger.
The notice says the claim against Dukes began in January after Dukes took over leadership of the sheriff’s office.
"Prior to Sheriff Dukes taking over leadership, Christopher Rager ran against (Dukes) in the Republican Primary for the position of Kosciusko County Sheriff, but lost," the letter reads. "Once Sheriff Dukes took over his position, Christopher Rager has experienced a political retribution and has been singled out and disciplined."
Pfeifer claims these actions constitute a violation of the First Amendment.
Rager was suspended without pay for 14 days on May 14.
Pfeifer also says Rager's personal health information was given out in documents resulting from a Freedom of Information Act request, violating federal HIPAA laws.
On Jan. 9, every KCSO merit deputy and jail confinement officer took the oath of office again. In February Dukes hired Travis Marsh as captain and promoted several others throughout the department.
Under Dukes’ first year, three classes of the Jail Chemical Addiction Program graduated, including two men’s and one women’s, and two inmates died in the county jail.
Sectional Champs
8. For the first time in Warsaw Community High School history, the football team won a sectional.
When Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach Bart Curtis arrived at WCHS before the 2018 season, the Tigers had never won a sectional title. In fact, they had won but 13 sectional games in 33 years, with two wins each in the 2007 and 2009 seasons.
All that changed this year.
Momentum began to build after a hard-fought 20-19 win at Michigan City Aug. 30. and excitement continued to grow as the season progressed.
The Tigers advanced to the sectional title game with a 35-28 victory at Chesterton Nov. 1. In the championship game Nov. 8, Warsaw took on Penn, who had defeated the Tigers eight times in postseason play including each of the last two seasons. But the Tigers dominated from start to finish in front of a packed Fisher Field crowd in its 35-18 win to claim its first title and spark football fever.
WPD Chief Incident
9. An incident early in the year had some people wanting Warsaw Police Department Chief Scott Whitaker to resign, while Mayor Joe Thallemer stood firmly behind him.
On Jan. 25, Whitaker, who was off duty and in his personal vehicle, said he was almost run off the road by what he thought was an impaired driver. He followed the driver to her home, staying on the phone with Central Dispatch. The woman exited the vehicle and went inside the home. Her husband came out to put the vehicle in the garage, leading Whitaker to believe the husband was the driver.
Whitaker told the husband not to enter the vehicle and detained him until other officers arrived. Whitaker reported he held the man’s shoulders and the man dropped to his knees after his knees buckled.
Allegations made against Whitaker included that he used excessive force against the 74-year-old man and violated Indiana law.
Whitaker, Thallemer and city attorney Scott Reust held a press conference Feb. 22 to discuss the incident and answer questions. Officers’ body cam footage, the 911 Dispatch audio recording, Indiana State Police news release and Whitaker’s report on the incident were put on the city’s website (www.warsaw.in.gov).
WPD officers Jason Dobbins and Ross Minear were suspended for 10 days for copying body camera video in violation of department policy. The video was shared with two city councilmen, which led the city council to consider hiring its own attorney.
The Indiana State Police completed a review into the incident and found no criminal activity. Whitaker issued several apologies to the elderly Warsaw couple.
Bank Robberies
10. The last top story of the year continued throughout the last months of 2019 and likely will be in the headlines in 2020.
On Nov. 12, a suspect robbed First Federal Savings Bank, 402 E. Center St., Warsaw. The same suspect was believed to have robbed Indiana Lakes Federal Credit Union, 322 S. Detroit St., on Dec. 3.
Then on Dec. 23, two banks were robbed within two hours.
First Federal Savings Bank was robbed first, and for a second time. A bank employee called Warsaw Police at 11:35 a.m. Dec. 23 and said a white male wearing a heavy, dark coat with a hood pulled over his head, wearing black pants and camouflage material covering his face entered the bank, displayed a note with his intention, then fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
At 1:45 p.m. Dec. 23, an armed robbery occurred at the Lake City Bank branch in Pierceton.
The male subject entered the bank, displayed a black handgun and ordered the employees to the ground.
Joshua R. Mort, 22, of 702 W. Tower St., Pierceton, – the man police believed robbed Lake City Bank Dec. 23 – was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 4:13 a.m. Dec. 27 and faces charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, a Level 3 felony, and theft, a Level 6 felony.
First there was the anticipated trial of Alyssa Shepherd, the driver in the fatal 2018 accident that claimed the lives of three Tippecanoe Valley students and injured a fourth. Then there was the ongoing fairgrounds racing lawsuit, which looks like it might continue to make headlines in 2020.
Those two stories and eight more make up the top stories of 2019, as voted on by the staff of the Times-Union.
They are:
Shepherd Trial
1. Testimony began at 8:54 a.m. Oct. 16 in Fulton County Superior Court for the trial of Shepherd, who was accused of hitting four children, killing three of them, as they boarded a school bus in October 2018. She faced three charges of reckless homicide, Level 5 felonies; passing a school bus with the arm extended where bodily injury results, a Class A misdemeanor; and criminal recklessness committing aggressive driving resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 6 felony.
Killed were 9-year-old Alivia Stahl; her 6-year-old twin brothers, Mason and Xzavier Ingle; and 11-year-old Maverik Lowe was severely injured.
After almost three hours of deliberation, the jury found Shepherd guilty on all five counts. However, on Dec. 18 Fulton Superior Court Judge Greg Heller handed her a 10-year sentence, which angered many people, including Brittany Ingle, the mother of the children killed, who lunged at Shepherd and made contact. Ingle was arrested for misdemeanor battery.
Racing Lawsuit
2. While the lawsuit regarding motorized racing at the fairgrounds started in 2018, it really ramped up in 2019 after mediation failed in December 2018.
The lawsuit was filed in 2018 by a handful of neighbors after they claimed motorized racing started back up, despite a 1990 settlement that prevented it, and their attempt to send a cease-and-desist was unsuccessful. It led to a court injunction that halted motorized racing as the suit played out in court.
In September 2019, Special Judge Stephen Bowers granted the plaintiffs’ (homeowners’) request for a permanent injunction to stop motorized racing at the fairgrounds and uphold a 1990 settlement agreement halting racing.
The fair board announced they would appeal the decision, as the fair was fighting for its “survival.”
Child Fatal
3. On June 10, 8-year-old Gidieon Cook was killed by a vehicle while he was crossing Husky Trail at North Pointe Drive to get to Harrison Elementary School.
During the police’s investigation, it was determined at one point that 24-year-old Raven L. Loubert, of Tippecanoe, operating a black 2008 Nissan Sentra, had come to a stop on North Pointe Drive, preparing to make a left turn onto Husky Trail to travel north. It was during this left turn that she struck Cook, who was in the crosswalk crossing Husky Trail.
A very well-attended vigil was held for Cook near where he was killed. City Council candidate Sara McNeal Strahan-Lenfestey voiced her concern about Husky Trail to the Warsaw Traffic Commission, and the city and Warsaw Schools worked together to address pedestrian safety at the intersection, including crosswalk signals. Police launched extra patrols as the 2019-20 school year got underway, and not just at Harrison Elementary.
In October, it was announced a grand jury had been convened on the death of Cook and decided on no indictment for the offense of reckless homicide would be issued in the case. Cook’s family was notified of the jury’s decision prior to the announcement.
Owen’s Closing
4. Stores open and close, but some have more impact than others because of the void they leave behind.
Such could be said of the “old” Owen’s store, which was located at 302 W. Market St. in Warsaw. Because it shut its doors, residents on the south side of town say there’s a “food desert” with no grocery stores nearby to do all their shopping. The residents at Retired Tigers can no longer walk a couple of blocks down the road to grab a few supplies.
In a news release provided in late February, Kroger’s Central Division announced the decision and said company leaders attribute the closing to the store’s ongoing poor financial performance.
“Kroger has long monitored operations, hoping the store could return to reliable profitability; however, the latest evaluations suggest such improvement is no longer realistic. Therefore, the store will close within 30 days,” the release stated.
Warsaw customers still can shop at the Owen’s at 2211 E. Center St. Parent company Kroger invested more than $4 million at that store to provide a new look and larger selection to serve all Kosciusko County shoppers.
City officials, including Mayor Joe Thallemer, tried to meet with Kroger officials to keep the old Owen’s open, but to no avail.
Clase Retires
5. Longtime county animal control officer Jerry Clase retired in October after approximately 30 years, but not before a controversy kept his name in the headlines.
Clase was suspended for five days without pay July 23 by the Kosciusko County commissioners following a June 19 dog-shooting incident.
Etna Green resident Sherry Koser alleged that on June 19 Clase stole her dog, Daisy Mae, from her garage and shot it while she was at work. However, Koser’s landlord gave authorization for Clase to enter the property and take the dog, which was suffering from a ruptured mammary tumor. An inquiry into the incident by Indiana State Police and Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton found Clase had broken no laws.
Protesters came to several county commissioners meetings and aired their grievances.
Koser was arrested in September on a single count of cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor.
The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office now handles animal control for the county.
Titus Death
6. The town of Winona Lake lost its longtime fire chief, Mitch Titus, when he died May 5 from injuries suffered May 3 in a work-related accident at G & G Hauling & Excavating on CR 150W.
Titus served 12 years as chief.
“I’ve seen his whole firefighting career and he is, to describe him, dedicated is the best word. He was dedicated to the fire service. He grew to his position as a chief, went up the ranks,” Winona Lake firefighter Mike Cox said at the time. “He really put everything into fire service, not just in Winona Lake but countywide.”
His funeral was held at Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, with burial in Oakwood Cemetery. The funeral procession for Titus included a number of emergency vehicles passing under a flag.
Third District U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City, gave a speech on the House floor honoring Titus.
The Winona Lake Town Council honored Titus at its June meeting, with Titus’ family presented a golden ax and a photo of Titus that held his place during council meetings since his death.
Kevin Gelbaugh eventually took over as Winona Lake Fire Department chief.
Dukes As Sheriff
7. Kyle Dukes’ first year as county sheriff had its ups and downs, which kept his name and the department in the news.
Dukes was elected sheriff in the November 2018 general election, defeating three others, including incumbent Rocky Goshert.
One of his first orders of business was to hire a new jail commander, Shane Coney, who came from the Noble County Sheriff’s Office. Coney replaced Mike Mulligan in that position. Coney was named in a wrongful death lawsuit after an inmate at the Noble County Jail hanged himself Oct. 4, 2017.
Former KCSO deputy Chris Rager filed notice with the county in September that he planned to file suit against Sheriff Kyle Dukes for retaliation and defamation. The notice of tort claim was sent June 25 by Rager's attorney Daniel Pfeifer, of Pfeifer, Morgan & Stesiak, South Bend, to Dukes, County Council President Sue Ann Mitchell and County Commissioners President Cary Groninger.
The notice says the claim against Dukes began in January after Dukes took over leadership of the sheriff’s office.
"Prior to Sheriff Dukes taking over leadership, Christopher Rager ran against (Dukes) in the Republican Primary for the position of Kosciusko County Sheriff, but lost," the letter reads. "Once Sheriff Dukes took over his position, Christopher Rager has experienced a political retribution and has been singled out and disciplined."
Pfeifer claims these actions constitute a violation of the First Amendment.
Rager was suspended without pay for 14 days on May 14.
Pfeifer also says Rager's personal health information was given out in documents resulting from a Freedom of Information Act request, violating federal HIPAA laws.
On Jan. 9, every KCSO merit deputy and jail confinement officer took the oath of office again. In February Dukes hired Travis Marsh as captain and promoted several others throughout the department.
Under Dukes’ first year, three classes of the Jail Chemical Addiction Program graduated, including two men’s and one women’s, and two inmates died in the county jail.
Sectional Champs
8. For the first time in Warsaw Community High School history, the football team won a sectional.
When Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach Bart Curtis arrived at WCHS before the 2018 season, the Tigers had never won a sectional title. In fact, they had won but 13 sectional games in 33 years, with two wins each in the 2007 and 2009 seasons.
All that changed this year.
Momentum began to build after a hard-fought 20-19 win at Michigan City Aug. 30. and excitement continued to grow as the season progressed.
The Tigers advanced to the sectional title game with a 35-28 victory at Chesterton Nov. 1. In the championship game Nov. 8, Warsaw took on Penn, who had defeated the Tigers eight times in postseason play including each of the last two seasons. But the Tigers dominated from start to finish in front of a packed Fisher Field crowd in its 35-18 win to claim its first title and spark football fever.
WPD Chief Incident
9. An incident early in the year had some people wanting Warsaw Police Department Chief Scott Whitaker to resign, while Mayor Joe Thallemer stood firmly behind him.
On Jan. 25, Whitaker, who was off duty and in his personal vehicle, said he was almost run off the road by what he thought was an impaired driver. He followed the driver to her home, staying on the phone with Central Dispatch. The woman exited the vehicle and went inside the home. Her husband came out to put the vehicle in the garage, leading Whitaker to believe the husband was the driver.
Whitaker told the husband not to enter the vehicle and detained him until other officers arrived. Whitaker reported he held the man’s shoulders and the man dropped to his knees after his knees buckled.
Allegations made against Whitaker included that he used excessive force against the 74-year-old man and violated Indiana law.
Whitaker, Thallemer and city attorney Scott Reust held a press conference Feb. 22 to discuss the incident and answer questions. Officers’ body cam footage, the 911 Dispatch audio recording, Indiana State Police news release and Whitaker’s report on the incident were put on the city’s website (www.warsaw.in.gov).
WPD officers Jason Dobbins and Ross Minear were suspended for 10 days for copying body camera video in violation of department policy. The video was shared with two city councilmen, which led the city council to consider hiring its own attorney.
The Indiana State Police completed a review into the incident and found no criminal activity. Whitaker issued several apologies to the elderly Warsaw couple.
Bank Robberies
10. The last top story of the year continued throughout the last months of 2019 and likely will be in the headlines in 2020.
On Nov. 12, a suspect robbed First Federal Savings Bank, 402 E. Center St., Warsaw. The same suspect was believed to have robbed Indiana Lakes Federal Credit Union, 322 S. Detroit St., on Dec. 3.
Then on Dec. 23, two banks were robbed within two hours.
First Federal Savings Bank was robbed first, and for a second time. A bank employee called Warsaw Police at 11:35 a.m. Dec. 23 and said a white male wearing a heavy, dark coat with a hood pulled over his head, wearing black pants and camouflage material covering his face entered the bank, displayed a note with his intention, then fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
At 1:45 p.m. Dec. 23, an armed robbery occurred at the Lake City Bank branch in Pierceton.
The male subject entered the bank, displayed a black handgun and ordered the employees to the ground.
Joshua R. Mort, 22, of 702 W. Tower St., Pierceton, – the man police believed robbed Lake City Bank Dec. 23 – was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail at 4:13 a.m. Dec. 27 and faces charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, a Level 3 felony, and theft, a Level 6 felony.
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