Government

A 25-year-old Dowagiac man faces up to life in prison after he was found guilty by a jury trial last week on charges related to a November 2014 incident in the city of Dowagiac. Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said Arthur Turner Jr. was arrested after strangling and assaulting a woman Nov. 29. Furthermore, according to Fitz, Turner continued to …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit – along with deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department and officers from the White Pigeon Police Department – executed a search warrant for narcotics Wednesday last week in the 800 block of West Chicago Road in the village of White Pigeon. Methamphetamine, synthetic marijuana and several items of drug …

Cass County sheriff’s deputies responded to a road-rage incident reported by a motorist over the weekend in Vandalia. Sheriff Joe Underwood said deputies were called around 1 p.m. Saturday by a motorist who reported being followed home by an unknown motorist. The victim said the suspect was driving aggressively, behaving in an erratic manner and ultimately brandished a knife. The …

A manhunt is over, as police have located the remaining two suspects from a group of four near the Branch-St. Joseph county line. The search began near Bronson Saturday afternoon, when a neighbor called authorities after hearing people shooting off guns nearby. When police responded, four men fled into the woods and cornfield, resulting in a manhunt that included Michigan …

Police are asking the public for help to locate a man in connection with a stabbing that occurred last week in Sturgis. Vladmir S. Cofield Sr. is wanted on a charge of attempted murder following an incident that occurred Wednesday. Cofield is accused of stabbing a Three Rivers man just after 1 p. m. in the 400 block of Center …

Two people were arrested on drug-related charges last week in the city of Three Rivers. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant Thursday at a residence in the 900 block of 5th Street following an ongoing investigation. SCAN officers obtained and executed a search warrant. Upon completing …

Several hundred people gathered Saturday for a massive farewell party to honor a county icon. On her 65th birthday, Pattie Bender was recognized for her 45 years of service as a St. Joseph County employee. She served 24 of her final years as county clerk. Staged at the Henningsen Show Arena at the county fairgrounds, the event drew friends, family, …

Motorists along state routes are advised to use extra caution, as the second Adopt-A-Highway roadside cleanup event of the year begins Saturday and continues over an eight-day period. Thousands of Adopt-A-Highway volunteers will be back picking up litter along state roadways starting Saturday, as they’ve done each summer since 1990. Every year, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers collect about 70,000 bags of trash, …

A legislative update from State Rep. Aaron Miller was the highlight of Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. Miller, a first-term legislature from Sherman Township, said the senate plan for road funding was the biggest bit of news he had to offer. He said $400 million in federal funds was allocated for the state’s transportation fund for the …

State officials are trying to determine who is responsible for environmental contamination that occurred as a result of a massive pileup on snowy Interstate 94 in southwestern Michigan six months ago. The Jan. 9 chain-reaction crashes killed a 57-year-old trucker and closed a stretch of the roadway for two days. Police announced in March that dozens of drivers were being …