Police

A longtime fixture in Cass County has announced he will not seek re-election later this year to another four-year term. Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. stated in a media release he plans to retire after 40 years in law enforcement. He has served as sheriff the past 24 years. Underwood said he spent a significant amount of time weighing the decision …

Two people found in a car in a creek in southwestern Michigan died from drowning. The autopsy result was announced Monday, a day after the car was found upside down in Brandywine Creek in Niles. The victims were Autumn Mehl and Steven Rough, who were last seen leaving a bar early Saturday. The road above the creek was snow-covered and …

A man faces charges in the deaths of a woman and her son in an icy, chain-reaction crash last month on I-94 in southwestern Michigan. Carol and Andrew Griesemer died in the pileup in Van Buren County. The crashes on Jan. 17 spread to more than 40 cars and trucks. Timothy Martinez, a 40-year-old from the Grand Rapids area, appeared …

Bitterly cold weather has made its way into Michigan and wintry conditions are creating hazardous driving conditions in parts of the state. The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories into the weekend, with temperatures forecast to drop below zero at times. The Van Buren County sheriff’s department reports numerous crashes Friday along a stretch of I-94 in southwestern Michigan. …

A courthouse addition for the county courts departments was identified as the No. 1 priority based on an informal poll during this week’s county commissioner workshop. The five-member panel over the course of an hour Tuesday revisited a number of projects either in progress or on the drawing board. Among the projects in either the planning or discussion stages, however, …

The Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, where a pair of exotic animals removed last month from a Mottville Township residence is receiving medical treatment, has provided an update on the condition of the animals it took in. A monkey is in quarantine. At the time of its removal, it weighed less than 10 pounds, was emaciated and dehydrated, and deprived of …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department has fielded a number of reports from residents complaining of telephone calls claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service. Sheriff Balk said the IRS does not conduct business by telephone. He encourages people to do the following if they receive such phone calls: Record the employee’s name, return-call number and caller ID if …

A Battle Creek man has been charged after police found his dog badly beaten on his back porch. The husky mix had been beaten with an aluminum baseball bat and shot at least once with a pellet rifle when officers arrived. A Battle Creek police officer shot and killed the dog Tuesday night because of the severity of its wounds. Police …

Representatives from Glen Oaks Community College and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department conducted an emergency-preparedness drill Tuesday. School officials said the drill was staged to provide college employees, and local and state police agencies a chance to practice responding to an active shooter incident on campus. Participants from public-safety and medical-response agencies in the county also had a role …

Driving too fast for conditions was determined to be a factor in a two-vehicle crash last week in Cass County’s Newburg Township. Sheriff Joe Underwood said deputies were called shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday to the intersection of Lewis Lake and Brownsville roads. Investigators concluded a car driven by 22-year-old Elkhart resident Christine Rossi was driving south on Lewis Lake …