Police

A 56-year-old Kalamazoo man died Tuesday following a six-vehicle accident on U.S. 131 in Schoolcraft. Richard Simmons died after the southbound car he was in was rear-ended at the north end of the village. The force of the collision pushed his vehicle into a power pole just south of West Lyons Street. The car was on fire as it crashed …

Two members of the Battle Creek police department have been fired after an investigation into a relationship between them and allegations of a hostile work environment. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports the firings of Deputy Police Chief Jim Saylor and Inspector Maria Alonso were announced Tuesday. They earlier were placed on paid administrative. In a statement, the city said more …

Names of the three people involved in a two-vehicle accident have been released by Michigan State Police. The incident occurred around 12:15 p.m. Thursday at Riverside Drive and U.S. 131 in Constantine Township. Investigators said Patricia VanDyke, 74, of Elkhart, proceeded east on Riverside and into the path of a northbound semi driven by Timothy Miller, 61, of Kalamazoo. VanDyke …

The victim of a car-pedestrian collision last week has died from her injuries. Mary Hanchon, age 92, was struck at 7:40 last Wednesday morning at the intersection of Millard Street and South Douglas Avenue. She was taken by ambulance to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, where she passed away Sunday.

An autopsy has confirmed that a recovered body is that of a man who disappeared earlier this month at a Kalamazoo lake. Police said in a release Monday that the body discovered last week is Takashi Sugimori, the husband of a Kalamazoo College professor. He went to the lake to cross-country ski early this month. The 56-year-old’s death has been …

The case of a Burr Oak woman charged with murder and felony firearm has been bound over to circuit court. Thirty-four-year-old Maria Audrey-Louise Williams is accused in the shooting death of Dennis Brooks, 33. The incident occurred March 13 in Burr Oak Township. Judge Rob Pattison on Friday said sufficient evidence for the charge of open murder was presented, resulting …

District Court Judge Jeff Middleton has announced that Jim McNeil is the recipient of the 30th St. Joseph County Bar Association’s Liberty Bell award. McNeil has been a law-enforcement instructor at Glen Oaks Community College for 36 years. He will be retiring in May. Middleton said McNeil has has taught the Introduction to Law Enforcement class to hundreds of students, …

A breaking-and-entering incident in White Pigeon Township was investigated last week. Sheriff’s officials responded to the 69000 block of Kalamazoo Street, where chain saws, a leaf blower, generator and a number of other tools were taken. The victim told police the incident occurred before April 21.

The mother of homicide victim Jodi Parrack said anyone with knowledge of the incident should step forward and tell the truth. Jo Gilson, mother of 11-year-old Parrack, addressed the media Tuesday at the Constantine Police Department. The event was staged following last week’s arrest of Raymond McCann on a felony charge of perjury. A warrant for McCann’s arrest was issued …

Officers from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating an injury accident that occurred last week in Mendon Township. A motorcycle driven by Kathy Kline, 54, of Mendon, was southbound at 8:15 p.m. Friday on Silver Street, when she lost control north of Wakeman Road Kline’s motorcycle went off the left side of the roadway. The bike then flipped …