PLYMOUTH – Little new information was offered at a press conference Monday afternoon concerning the grand jury indictment of Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine, Grace College professor Mark Soto and former Aryan Nation member Kevin Bronson. The conference was held at the Marshall County Administration Building as Marshall County Prosecutor E. Nelson Chipman Jr. is the leading attorney. The conference began with a short video of an interview of Bronson. In the interview, Bronson shared a brief anecdote about his time with the Aryan Brotherhood in Indiana Department of Correction, his new life as a Christian and the struggles of juggling the two. In the video, Bronson said he told gang members, “Take my life or give it back to me.” Chipman then told the members of the media that he would not answer any questions or offer any comments after the conference. Chipman urged that everyone present stress that the three individuals are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The remainder of the conference consisted of Chipman explaining the indictment. He stated that Warsaw Police Department started the investigation of Rovenstine and the others Feb. 24, 2015. On March 8, 2015, Chipman said the Indiana State Police took over the investigation. Chipman was appointed prosecuting attorney by Kosciusko County Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed on July 24. On Oct. 23, a grand jury consisting of six random Kosciusko County citizens and one alternate was formed to write the indictment. They conferred Dec. 14, and the indictment had remained sealed in Kosciusko County until 8 a.m. Monday. The grand jury proceedings – aside from the indictments themselves – remain sealed, but Chipman said, “It would be fair to assume the document contains matters of vital public concern to the citizens of Kosciusko county. We will seek to have it unsealed through the proper legal channels.” Chipman read through the individual charges against Soto, Bronson and then Rovenstine. This information was available earlier Monday morning and appeared in yesterday’s newspaper. Soto and Bronson were both charged with three counts of corrupt business influence, namely by racketeering through Young Dragon Enterprises LLC, Bronson’s business. There were three counts of intimidation against Soto and Bronson. These involved threatening to injure or kill David Baker, Corey Greene, James King, Dr. Steve Hollar and their families. Soto only was involved in six charges, as Bronson had 10. These offenses all occurred in Kosciusko County between June 2011 and May 2015. The charges against Rovenstine, Chipman continued, involve three counts of bribery, namely accepting up to $40,000 from Bronson and Soto to permit them to have special privileges while Bronson was in Kosciusko County Jail. He also was charged with intimidating Warsaw Police Officer Paul Heaton, assisting a criminal and five counts of official misconduct. All charges between the three men are felony level offenses. Chipman advised that Rovenstine had turned himself in Monday morning to ISP and was taken to Elkhart County Jail with a bond of $10,000. He bonded out within an hour. Kosciusko County Sheriff Public Information Officer Chad Hill said that Rovenstine is still acting as sheriff as he has not been convicted. Soto also was arrested Monday morning on a $10,000 bond at Kosciusko County Jail. He has posted bond already, according to Hill. Amanda Banks, Grace College Public Relations, said that the school would not comment on the incident, as the details surrounding the arrest are personal and not related to the school. Bronson has been in custody since being arrested for cocaine charges in December 2014. He was transferred to Marshall County Jail by Chipman when the investigation began. He was in Kosciusko County Circuit Court last week when he changed his plea agreement for the cocaine charges. He is set to be sentenced for that offense March 8. Court dates for Rovenstine, Soto and Bronson are unknown, Chipman said. Present at the conference were Heaton, other members of WPD and ISP.
