Police

A fire that damaged a home in Mottville is being called suspicious by local authorities. Firefighters were dispatch to 69049 Thomas St. around 3 p.m. Tuesday, and quickly brought the blaze under control. Neighbors said the ranch style home had been condemned and that squatters had been living there until last week. They also said the floors were coming apart …

A person considered by authorities to be suicidal was found after a rigorous search in Cass County Wednesday morning and afternoon. Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said his office was advised around 7:30 in the morning of a missing suicidal subject in the 65000 block of North Peninsula Drive in Porter Township. Deputies were made aware that the subject had taken a …

Two White Pigeon men were involved in a single-vehicle accident Tuesday in White Pigeon Township. State police said Christopher Shuman, 19, was driving westbound around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday on Indian Prairie Road when he lost control of his SUV, crossed over the centerline and off the roadway. In correcting the situation, Shuman returned to the proper lane but the vehicle …

A 44-year-old Kalamazoo County man was found guilty of murder Wednesday in a case that has ties to Three Rivers. Grady Shields Jr., was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder in the slaying of Lois Cox. Cox was 59 when her body was found in October 1993 inside a vehicle behind a business in the 600 block …

A White Pigeon man was airlifted to a Kalamazoo hospital following a two-vehicle accident Tuesday at the intersection of U.S. 12 and U.S. 131. Thomas Lapham, 50, was in serious condition following the 4 a.m. accident. He was driving east on U.S. 12 when a westbound vehicle driven by 25-year-old Kevin Groff, of Burr Oak, turned south onto U.S. 131 …

A Mendon woman was injured Tuesday after she swerved off the roadway to avoid a herd of deer in Nottawa Township. Nancy Lee Gage, 68, was driving south on Nottawa Road shortly before 7 a.m., when the incident occurred near Wasepi Road. Gage’s vehicle went into a ditch, causing damage to her 2007 Chevrolet Malibu. She was transported to Sturgis …

Names of the Sturgis men arrested Friday on methamphetamine-related charges have been released. Jason Bishop, 39, and Calvin Merriam, 28, were charged following a traffic stop around 10 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Balk and Featherstone roads for defective exhaust. Troopers noticed meth-making ingredients, which they verified after being given consent to search the vehicle. Upon further investigation, troopers …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a property-damage complaint filed last week in Burr Oak Township. According to a department media release, a vehicle at a business was driven by the suspects a short distance and was then intentionally damaged. The suspects are described as two white males in their mid-teens.

State police were called to a Lockport Township business Saturday afternoon in response to a report of malicious destruction of property. The agency said a full-size pickup truck rammed a parked car three or four times in the parking lot at Sam’s Place, in the 60000 block of Lutz Road. The offending vehicle was last seen heading north on Lutz …

Two Sturgis men were charged with drug-related offenses after the vehicle they were in was stopped by state police last week in Sherman Township. According to a department media release, the vehicle was stopped around 10 p.m. Friday on Balk Road, not far from Featherstone Road, for defective exhaust. Troopers noticed meth-making ingredients, which they verified after being given consent …