Two prominent men in the community embattled in a lawsuit took the top spot in the stories of 2012. The other top stories of 2012 involve sex charges, murder, suicides and business news. Stories from the front pages of the Times-Union in 2012 were compiled. Newsroom staff then voted on the top 10 stories of the year, with the following result: #1 In June, the Times-Union learned a lawsuit was filed in Kosciusko County pitting one of Biomet’s founders, Dr. Dane Miller, against the former director of the Village At Winona, Brent Wilcoxson. The original filing claims irregularities in accounting for the Village at Winona. Further investigation following the original filing shows Wilcoxson transferred properties from Winona Restoration Partners LLC to a not-for-profit Wilcoxson created, Winona Arts Restoration and Preservation Inc. Within the original lawsuit filed Dec. 21, 2011, by Warsaw attorney Michael Reed, Miller claimed that on Nov. 2, 2011, as 95 percent or more owner of the company, he revoked the authority of Wilcoxson to do business on behalf of the company. Miller then instated himself as the day-to-day manager of the company. Between Nov. 2, 2011, and Nov. 15, 2011, it became apparent to Miller that the books and records of the company were not complete or were missing, the suit claims. Additionally Miller claims that other necessary documents and company records were not kept at the office of the company as required by state law and the operating agreement. The lawsuit levels claims against Wilcoxson of breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, constructive fraud, conversion and unjust enrichment. Miller’s attorney demanded that the court set the matter for a jury trial. Miller is also seeking financial restitution for actual and punitive damages against Wilcoxson. Wilcoxson contests the allegations against him and denies any impropriety in his operation of the non profits. ––– Public figures take the second and third spots on the list because of their legal troubles. #2 In May, former Warsaw Police Department officer Timothy Whitright was sentenced in Kosciusko County Superior Court I to one year in jail, with six months suspended, for sexual battery, a Class D felony. The suspended portion of his sentence will be spent on probation. Whitright will spend his jail time in the Indiana Department of Corrections, according to the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office. Whitright pleaded guilty May 1 to inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl. During sentencing, Kosciusko County Prosecutor Daniel H. Hampton read a letter written by the mother of the victim. Additionally, Hampton cited another inappropriate case with a young teenager in 2011 as the reason why Whitright resigned from WPD. Prior to Whitright’s sentencing, Judge Duane Huffer told him that he “embarrassed the community.” The Whitright case was broke in late November 2011 when someone reported to Warsaw Police Department Police Chief Scott Whitaker that Whitright made inappropriate contact with a 16-year-old Warsaw Community High School student. On Nov. 23, Whitright resigned from his position as a patrolman with WPD. Less than a month later, on Dec. 16, criminal charges were brought against Whitright in a separate incident. According to the probable cause affidavit, the girl was at the Whitright’s home with friends and later was given a ride home by Whitright. During the ride home, Whitright allegedly attempted to solicit sexual favors from the girl, and the girl alleged he inappropriately touched her. The girl told investigators that Whitright told her not to tell anyone and that nobody would believe her because “he’s a cop and (she) was a kid.” #3 On Dec. 20, Tyler Baatz, a former middle school teacher charged with sexual misconduct with a former student, was sentenced to six years in prison with three years on probation. A former Edgewood Middle School girls basketball coach and language arts teacher, Baatz was arrested Aug. 21 after police received complaints that he had conducted an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student. He was sentenced by Judge Duane Huffer in Kosciusko County Superior Court. Baatz, 26, Warsaw, pleaded guilty in November to one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class B felony that carries a potential prison term of six to 20 years. In return for his plea a Class D felony count of child solicitation would be dismissed and the state would seek no further charges. Over a period of three weeks, Baatz had texted and seen the girl in and out of school multiple times, according to the probable cause affidavit. The girl had been a student of his in the past year. Contact between them began in spring and continued into the school year, text and telephone records indicated. The affidavit states that during summer school, the student would go to Baatz’s room and they would hug and kiss. On another occasion, the girl went to Baatz’s Warsaw apartment and he touched her inappropriately. Warsaw school resource officers and detectives had received the information of a possible inappropriate relationship. Baatz was suspended without pay and later resigned. ––––– #4 A story from 2010 resurfaced in the news this year due to an appeal to the Indiana Court of Appeals. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Dec. 11 that a lower court judge didn't allow enough time for due process before waiving Paul Henry Gingerich, now 14, into adult court. The court ordered a new trial in a juvenile court. Gingerich was one of three Cromwell youths charged in the killing of 49-year-old Phillip Danner in a plot to run away to Arizona in 2010. He fired one of the shots that hit Danner and is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder. Gingerich, along with then-15-year-old Colt Lundy, pleaded guilty after being waived out of the juvenile court system. The state appeals court ruled that in deciding Gingerich would be tried as an adult, Kosciusko County Superior I Judge Duane Huffer violated his due process rights. The state judges’ ruling notes that Gingerich’s defense was given only four business days to prepare, that they were not given time to perform a mental health evaluation before the waiver, and that multiple requests for more time were denied. Gingerich is currently in the Pendleton juvenile facility.______ Two cases of suicides involving two members of the same family in the same day took two spots in the top 10. The second is at the number 10 spot, and the first is at: #5 At 12:29 p.m. Dec. 3, Nick Lowry, the 18-year-old son of David Lowry, 53, committed suicide at his home, 1421 S. CR 800W, Mentone. Lowry was found by his father who had recently brough him home from the Burket Educational Center. At 9:09 p.m., Kosciusko County Central Dispatch received a call from the same address regarding suicide attempts. The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department responded to the home of David Lowry and spoke with him concerning his possible suicide. According to Chad Hill, the KCSD Public Information Officer, deputies stayed and spoke with Lowry for a lengthy amount of time before leaving. Hill said that Lowry told the deputies he was not gong to kill himself, but he was sad and wanted to be alone and rest. The Mentone Fire Department got a call for a fire at the home. At 11:47 p.m., the Mentone Fire Department was dispatched to the Lowry home for a fully engulfed home fire. When the Mentone Fire Department was on scene, they found four separate structure fires and David Lowry dead on a picnic table in the front yard. MFD Fire Chief Mike Yazel said it looked like the fires were set separately. #6 Though it’s cold outside now, the summer was so hot and dry, the county instituted a burn ban. In June, the county commissioners signed the burn ban. It lasted until the end of July when Kosciusko finally saw some rain. During that dry period, residents were asked not to set off fireworks in many of the towns, including Winona Lake and Mentone. According to some reports, the drought in Indiana was expected to cost the state more than $1 billion. #7 Luselva Saavedra, 35, of 310 N. East St., Milford, died Feb. 27 from a single gunshot wound she received after being shot by her ex-husband, Ruben Saavedra. Ruben Saavedra, 35, of 310 N. East St., Milford, shot himself in the head shortly after shooting his ex-wife. The Saavedras had two children, who were with their grandmother at the time of the shootings. Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Dept. deputies responded to a 5:38 a.m. call Feb. 27 of a shooting that had just occurred at the Katie’s Kwik Mart gas and convenience store, 100 N. Main St., Leesburg. Witnesses advised KCSD officers and detectives that a female had ran from her vehicle into the store frantically asking for help from the store clerk. The female ran behind the counter area as a male subject also ran into the business chasing the female and brandishing a handgun. The male suspect could not get behind the secure counter area and fired one round from the handgun over the counter, striking the female victim in the shoulder and then fled the store. The fleeing vehicle was described as a red pickup truck to police who were converging on the area. Shortly afterward, a Warsaw Police Dept. officer located the suspect vehicle at the north end of an empty parking lot on the Warsaw Ivy Tech campus, near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Silveus Crossing. As officers approached the vehicle they discovered the driver was dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. #8 In March, the Times-Union learned that Little Crow Foods was moving its corporate headquarters out of Warsaw. Little Crow Foods President Denny Fuller confirmed the company was sold to Gilster-Mary Lee in Chester, Ill. and its equipment will be moved. Chester is located in southern Illinois and Gilster-Mary Lee produces private-label food manufacturing. Little Crow Foods was established in 1903 and was located at the corner of Market and Detroit streets in Warsaw. It’s the maker of such products as CoCo Wheats and Miracle Maize. Little Crow Foods employed about 60 people. On Dec. 10, the Kosciusko County Community Foundation accepted the gift of the Little Crows Foods property from the Fuller family. The property, once sold, will fund a donor-advised fund at the foundation from which the Fullers will be able to advise charitable grants. #9 In February, Thompson-Thrift started construction of an approximately 80,000-square-foot expansion of its Warsaw Commons retail center. Businesses that went into the expansion include T.J. Maxx, Ulta Beauty, PetSmart and Shoe Carnival. #10 Kosciusko County law enforcement were searching for answers to an apparent murder-suicide at Brown’s Mobile Home Park, south of Warsaw, Aug. 7. At approximately 7:30 a.m., Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched to 2798 S. Country Club Road, Lot 28, for a welfare check. When deputies arrived they found James Kinzer, 47, and Jane Ellen Kinzer, 46, dead from single gunshot wounds to the head. James Kinzer was found to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The autopsy couldn’t determine whether Jane Kinzer’s wound was self-inflicted. Law enforcement also found an 11-page letter in the home addressed to family members. KCSD Public Information Officer Sgt. Chad Hill said there is a good possibility that the incident was a suicide-suicide and not a murder-suicide. Hill added that they found a .380 semi-automatic pistol at the scene.
