Public Occurrences 2.18.2011

Public Occurrences 2.18.2011

Public Occurrences 10.20.22

Former County Employee Sentenced For Theft

After recently pleading guilty to theft, a former county employee was sentenced to work release last week in Kosciusko Superior Court I and ordered to repay nearly $36,000. Betty Ann Davis, 51, of 207 S.Graceland St., Claypool, was a secretary for the Extension office prior to her September 2001 arrest on charges of theft, a Class D felony, and forgery, a Class C felony.Through a plea agreement, the forgery charge was dismissed.She is no longer a county employee. Davis was sentenced for the theft to three years in prison, with two years allowed served in the Kosciusko County Work Release program and one year suspended for probation.She also was ordered to pay $35,908.14 in restitution; $15,477.23 has already been paid toward that debt and Davis must pay at least $100 per week toward the balance.

Brothers Sentenced After Conviction In Theft Of Deer Stand

Two brothers convicted of theft for stealing a deer stand from a tree learned their sentences this morning.

Theft At YMCA Results In Charges

A Warsaw woman is facing theft charges after allegedly stealing items from other women’s lockers at the local YMCA.

Forgery, Theft Charges Against Weber Dropped

Felony charges against a local woman have been dropped by Kosciusko County Prosecutors. Lisa C. Weber, who was charged with Class C forgery and Class D theft in June 2010, had those charges dropped by prosecutors June 30.

Boys Arrested for Gun Thefts

SYRACUSE – A group of Syracuse boys have been arrested in connection with a pair of gun thefts from vehicles in the town.

Copper Theft Brings Arrest

A?man was arrested after allegedly stealing copper pipe from the Edgewood Middle School construction site.

Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office Seeks Information About Auto Used During Theft

Public Occurrences 8.4.10

County Jail Bookings The following people were preliminarily charged and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail:

Public Occurrences 2.8.2012

Guilty Pleas Entered In Burglary At Rice Ford

The third man charged in connection with a December burglary of Rice Ford in Warsaw has pleaded guilty to charges against him. George W.Aldrich, 29, of Etna Green, admitted in Kosciusko Circuit Court Thursday to committing the offenses of burglary, a Class C felony, and auto theft, a Class D felony. Aldrich, Lawrence Grant of Shipshewana and William Vroman of Milford were all charged in connection with the theft of more than $100,000 worth of vehicles from the Warsaw car dealership.The auto theft ring also has been tied to the January murder of 48-year-old Kathy Vroman of Milford. Jason Fisher, 22, of Millersburg is scheduled to stand trial in September for allegedly shooting Kathy Vroman to death inside his Milford business, Country Car Co.Fisher's father, Ralph Freddrick Fisher, also faces charges related to the death. Grant and William Vroman previously pleaded guilty to charges against them and are serving their sentences.

Armed Robber Targets Business In North Webster

NORTH WEBSTER - An armed robber targeted a North Webster business Tuesday night and police are seeking information as to the identity and whereabouts of the suspect. According to North Webster Police Department Deputy Marshal Greg Church, a black male entered the Crystal Flash Station on Ind.13 shortly after 8 p.m.and demanded money. The robber did not display a weapon, but placed a bag on the counter with his hand inside it that implied he was armed, Church said.The suspect allegedly said, "This is a holdup," and demanded cash.He then reportedly reached across the counter and removed an undisclosed amount of cash from the cash register before fleeing the store.He was last seen northbound on Ind.13 on foot. A 911 call was made from the store to report the robbery at 8:17 p.m.There were two employees and no customers present during the robbery. The suspect was wearing a black and white jacket, jeans and a black stocking cap at the time of the incident.

Biggs Again Seeking Planners OK For Paths Of Deerfield Subdivision

Ralph Biggs will be before the Warsaw Plan Commission tonight for the fourth time in as many months, hoping for approval of his proposed subdivision, Paths of Deerfield. Biggs' platting of the housing edition is currently designed as a planned unit development, which recently sparked debate with the board regarding what is expected of a PUD request. Commission members tabled an identical petition from Biggs during a Nov.15 meeting after failing to obtain a majority vote.With two members absent, a 3-2 decision fell short of approval by one vote. The property, at the southwest corner of CRs 75N and 175E, consists of roughly 40 acres, which Biggs intends to turn into 110 lots. In a commission report, city planner Jeremy Skinner recommended the board approve the request, pending Biggs' submission of proper drainage calculations for the subdivision.

A Piece Of Winona Lake History Discovered 75 Years Later

WINONA LAKE - When identical twin sisters Eunice and Lois Marburger, then of Logansport, received this postcard from their friend Lenora in the late 1920s, they probably had no idea that they would visit Winona Lake, let alone that Eunice would eventually buy a summer cottage here. On the reverse side of the postcard, Lenora wrote: "Hello, Girls, Don't you think this would make a nice place to go bathing?" It was signed Lenora and mailed Aug.29, at 1:30 p.m.; however, we couldn't read (or find) a year in the postmark.The green 1-cent stamp contained a picture of Benjamin Franklin.

Teen Gets 16 Years In Syracuse Robbery

The last of three teens involved in the New Year's Eve robbbery of the Syracuse Pizza Hut received a 16-year prison sentence Tuesday. Ryan Kennelly, 17, of 9929 N.Marine Key Drive, Syracuse, received a sentence identical to the ones handed down to the other two teens, Robert LaFollette III, 19, of Pierceton, and Nicholas Ashkins, 17, of South Whitley, involved in the Dec.31 robbery. Kennelly was sentenced to 16 years in prison, two years probation and ordered to pay more than $4,000 in restitution for inducing or causing robbery and criminal confinement, both Class B felonies. Lafollette and Kennelley, clad in masks, went inside the Syracuse Pizza Hut on Ind.13 and forced nine employees into a walk-in freezer at gunpoint while Ashkins waited outside.Ashkins, a former Pizza Hut employee, then went inside and helped take the money.LaFollette admitted to showing a gun.

Accident Victim's Condition Upgraded To 'Serious'

Charges are likely when police determine the identity of the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident in which an injured passenger was left behind. James Hale, 24, of Warsaw, suffered head and internal injuries in the Feb.25 accident on CR 500S, between CRs 400E and 500E.Hale was found unconscious in the back seat of the car and nobody else was in or around the vehicle.The car struck a pole. The accident, under investigation by the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, occurred around 4:30 a.m.Feb.25 and was discovered when a nearby resident called police to report a possible prowler.Police believe the "prowler" was one or two other occupants of the car leaving the scene of the accident. At first, police didn't know whether Hale or someone else in the car was the driver, but officials now believe that Hale was not driving the car when the accident occurred.

Second Convenience Store Robbed At Gunpoint

SYRACUSE - Police are investigating the second armed robbery of a convenience store in as many nights. A report of an armed robbery at Price C Store on North Turkey Creek Road, Syracuse, was dispatched about 9:40 p.m.Friday - less than 24 hours from the time of another armed robbery under investigation.Katie's Kwikmart on South Main Street in Leesburg was robbed about 10:25 p.m.Thursday as employees were preparing to close the store. In both robberies, it was indicated that the suspect carried a silver handgun and wore a mask to conceal his identity. A K-9 and night-vision goggles were brought in to search a perimeter that was set up Friday night after the suspect fled from the Pride C Store on foot. The suspect in the previous robbery reportedly ran from the store with an undisclosed amount of cash and got into a waiting vehicle north of the store. At press time, no information was available as to what, if anything, Friday's robber garnered.

One Dead In Papakeechie Fire

SYRACUSE -ÊOne man was killed when a house exploded and burned near Papakeechie Lake Wednesday afternoon. The man, whose name is being withheld by police until his family is notified, was identified only as a white male who was approximately 48 years old. Around 1:40 p.m.Wednesday, the man was in a house at 9447 N.Koher Road, Syracuse, when it exploded.It is believed the man was renting the house. The property is owned by James Jagel and Michael Janecek, of Chicago, neither of whom lived at the property. The man inside the home was badly burned and officials from the coroner's office were examining dental records late this morning to determine the identity of the victim. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Police said the house contained evidence of an illegal methamphetamine lab, but could not say whether operation of the lab was the cause of the explosion.

Money's Influence

Editor, Times-Union: As the outreach of Washington’s decisions leave their marks across the country, the identity of being American surrenders to being either Republican or Democrat during elections.