Government

The trial is underway for the second of two men accused of murdering a 74-year-old Kalamazoo antiques dealer last summer.  52-year old John Aguilar faces charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, assault with intent to rob and home invasion in the August 2012 death of Robert Medema.  Aguilar and 21-year-old Antonio Livingston were accused of forcing their way into Medema’s …

A Constantine man was duct-taped to a chair and his residence ransacked during an armed robbery over the weekend. Constantine Chief Jim Bedell said two subjects at 10 p.m. Sunday knocked on the door at a residence in the Whispering Pines mobile home community. The victim answered the door and was forced by the two suspects to a chair. The …

During their inaugural meeting Monday, members of the newly formed River Country Humane Society Board said a new animal shelter – jointly run with the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department Animal Control division – is the board’s top priority. More than a dozen people who gathered at the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District agreed with the idea that replacing …

The sanitary sewer overflow into the St. Joseph River that began last week has been stopped, according to the city of Three Rivers Department of Public Services and its Waste Water Treatment Plant. City crews were able to access the location Monday morning to make the confirmation. Pipe-flow capacity analysis and discharge estimates are still being calculated, but currently indicate …

Three Colon teens were among five people injured in a single-vehicle crash over the weekend in Colon Township. Investigators said it appears alcohol and excessive speeding were potential factors contributing to the 4 a.m. Sunday crash on Wattles Road. A department media release indicated the vehicle was being driven west on Wattles Road when it veered off the roadway and …

The Day Reporting Center was announced as the recipient of the 2013 Liberty Bell Award, an honor bestowed annually since 1985 by the St. Joseph County Bar Association. Its program director, Anthony Callaway, and the agency’s five-member staff will be recognized during a ceremony at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the St. Joseph County Courthouse. The Liberty Bell Award is presented …

Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said his deputies handled a two-car, personal-injury crash on Calvin Center Road, near Chain Lake Street in Calvin Township over the weekend. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. Saturday, when a vehicle driven by 57-year-old Wayne Barber Jr., of Cassopolis, was traveling north on Calvin Center Road and a southbound vehicle driven by 52-year-old …

A White Pigeon man was killed in a one-car crash late Saturday afternoon on Blue School Road near Dickinson Road in Constantine Township. The victim was identified as 74-year-old Richard Carter. The incident occurred when his car left the roadway and rolled over. The vehicle was a convertible that had its top off at the time of the accident. Carter …

A trio of men who fled from police in Three Rivers earlier this week were arraigned in district court Wednesday. William Powell, 23, Antonio Hearn, 20, and Charles Hearn, 21, face a variety of charges following the Monday night incident in which one of the men held his 6-month-old son while fleeing from police. All three men, originally from Ohio, …

A high water level at Colon Township’s Sturgeon Lake has prompted the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department to close its public access. In addition, the sheriff’s department is enforcing a no-wake policy throughout the lake. The no-wake order will remain in place until further notice.