Government

A Kalamazoo man accused of killing his 2-year-old son faces sentencing next month after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.  40-year-old Brian Keith Roberts entered the plea Wednesday, the same day his trial was to begin in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.  Under a deal with prosecutors, felony murder and first-degree child abuse charges will be dismissed.  Kalamazoo officers found Nehemiah Dodd …

The St. Joseph County Water Trail Master Plan will be open for public comment starting Friday. The document will be available in hard copy at the county courthouse in Centreville and digitally on the county’s website. The public-comment session runs through Feb. 16. According to Suzanne Fromson, landscape architect with Edgewater Resources, the plan outlines a strategy to help the …

Three Rivers Waste Water Treatment Plant personnel caused a spill of untreated biosolids inside the facility around 4 p.m. Monday. According to department officials, an operator was transferring biosolids from one tank to another and neglected to close the necessary valves before disconnecting the transfer hose. Approximately 100 gallons were released onto the snow near the transfer location. Plant personnel …

A 21-year-old Kalamazoo man has been charged in the shooting death of an Oshtemo Township woman. The Kalamazoo County prosecutor says Korbin Thomas is charged with open murder and felony firearm. He’s accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Jazmyne Gibson in her town house on Sunday night. Undersheriff Paul Matyas says the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit conducted a controlled narcotics transaction Monday in Constantine, leading to the execution of a search warrant and the arrest of two people. According to the county sheriff’s department, a search warrant was executed at a residence in the 200 block of Meadow Lane. Investigators located multiple prescription drugs consistent with the …

A pair of state legislators whose jurisdictions include St. Joseph County were sworn in during a ceremonial event Monday at the Centreville courthouse. State Rep. Aaron Miller and State Sen John Proos took part in the fanfare before a group of about 100 people in the third-floor commissioners’ room. The oath was administered by county clerk Pattie Bender. Miller, a …

Five unlocked vehicles were ransacked and had items stolen from them during incidents that occurred last week in Leonidas and Colon Townships. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said the incidents occurred between late Thursday night and in the early morning hours Friday on Blossom Road. The first incident took place outside a residence in the 54000 block of Blossom …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, through its program called “Ins and Outs,” is scheduling appointments to assist area residents with signing up through the Healthcare Marketplace or for Medicaid. Open enrollment for the Healthcare Marketplace will end Feb. 15. According to Steve Todd, health officer for the tri-county health department, the agency has available eight certified, in-person assisters who …

A state Transportation spokesman says speed and “driver behavior” are to blame for a 193-vehicle pileup that killed one man and closed a stretch of Interstate 94 for two days.  Nick Schirripa tells the Kalamazoo Gazette for a story Tuesday that “people were driving too fast and following too closely on an icy freeway during a white-out” Friday near Galesburg …

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office is interviewing a person of interest after a woman was shot to death close to Western Michigan University. Deputies say they found the 21-year old woman shot last night at Copper Beech Townhomes in Oshtemo Township, and she died later at a hospital. A man reportedly called 911 to report the shooting about 6:00 Sunday night, …