Police

St. Joseph County Animal Control Officer Josh Shook announced he is resigning to take advantage of an employment opportunity elsewhere. During Wednesday’s meeting of the Animal Control Advisory Board, Shook said he was presented an opportunity that would put his family in a stronger place financially. Shook said it wasn’t a decision he made easily. Shook, who joined the department …

An icon in White Pigeon municipal government took part in his final village council meeting Wednesday. Dan Czajkowski was honored earlier in the evening for his 30 years as a village council member. He served the past 14 years as village president. With a two-year term to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners already secured and beginning in January, …

Murder charges against 37-year-old Jonathon Fleming of Sturgis have been dismissed by St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough. Fleming was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday. He had been charged in the Sept. 25 stabbing death of Christopher Calhoun, 39, of Sturgis. The two were involved in a fight near a home on Jacob Street in Sturgis when the stabbing …

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the theft of a vehicle early Wednesday in Nottawa Township. According to a department media release, the 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport was taken sometime between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 4 a.m. Wednesday from a location at Klinger Lake and Timm roads. The vehicle was parked in a field and listed for sale. It has a two-inch …

Police in Fairbanks, Alaska, have captured the suspect in a shooting incident involving a Sturgis native last weekend. According to the Fairbanks News-Miner newspaper’s website, a 29-year-old Anchorage man was charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, vehicle theft, second-degree theft and tampering with evidence. The arrest stems from a Sunday morning incident during which Sgt. Allan Brandt was shot …

A Constantine Township man was injured after the truck he was driving struck a wind-fallen tree Monday night in Flowerfield Township. Sheriff’s deputies said 28-year-old Timothy Sherer was driving a Schwan’s food truck east on M-216 around 8:30 p.m. Sherer told deputies he was unable to stop the truck in time to prevent it from striking a tree in the …

A Vandalia woman reported missing last week has been located. Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood said Ramona Huffman, 48, is safe and no longer considered a missing person. Huffman was last seen shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 11, when she left her home to walk to a nearby gas station. Underwood said Huffman left on her own free will and …

A Three Rivers man was seriously injured after attempting to avoid a deer in the roadway last week in Florence Township. Sheriff’s officials said Tawron Johnson, 29, was driving north on Lutz Road at 5:40 a.m. Thursday when his vehicle swerved to avoid the deer. The vehicle crossed the centerline and left the west side of the road before it …

Westly George III, 29, of Three Rivers, was sentenced to prison last week for the 2015 shooting death of Eugene Jackson in Three Rivers. He was sentenced by 45th Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman. George was ordered to life for the murder, and also sentenced to three, 4- to 20-year terms on the charges of possession of firearm by a …

A mausoleum was vandalized last week at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Sturgis. Police said a substantial amount of spray-painted graffiti was found at 8 a.m. Friday on the Franks mausoleum. Sturgis city commissioner Rob Sisson said he was outraged over the incident. He said whoever is responsible for the vandalism will be found and held accountable to the fullest extent …