Police

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Chairman John Dobberteen has asked that a letter be sent to state representatives regarding police coverage at night by the Michigan State Police. During the county commission’s November committee of the whole meeting, Dobberteen said he is aware the Branch County Sheriff’s Department cut in half its funding for road patrol. Dobberteen said it’s …

Authorities say a van crashed into a horse-drawn buggy on a northern Indiana highway, killing the buggy’s driver. The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department says the crash happened Monday evening on Indiana 119 a few miles southwest of Goshen when the van drove into the buggy from behind. The department says 51-year-old Ammon Imhoff of Goshen was thrown from the buggy …

State police are investigating a hit-and-run incident during which a sign outside a Sturgis restaurant was damaged. Troopers were called Monday morning to Hot ‘n’ Now on South Centerville Road after store employees found the drive-thru sign near the business entrance was destroyed. Investigators said it appears a double-axle vehicle drove over the curb and onto the restaurant property. The …

A 25-year-old Constantine man was injured last week after the vehicle he was driving crashed into a tree in Florence Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said it fielded a call around 1 a.m. Friday in response to a one-car accident on Sevison Road near Mintdale Road. Upon arrival, deputies saw a 2007 Ford F-250 crashed into a tree …

Appointments and re-appointments were made by members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week. Constantine-area resident David Miars was reappointed to another three-year term on the county’s Board of Public Works. His current term expires at the end of the year. Deb Leyes of Sturgis was tapped to serve a one-year term as a general-public representative on …

Two people were injured early Monday in a 1-car crash at 1am. The driver was identified as 37-year-old James Devries. He rolled his full size conversion van at the intersection of Wakeman and Baer Roads. County sheriff’s deputies say he fled the scene of the crash, but was later found walking up to his home by an awaiting officer. Devries …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department responded to a two-car collision at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Lockport Township. According to a department media release, one of two cars going in opposite directions on M-60 near Mahnke Road crossed the center line and collided with the other vehicle. One of the vehicles rolled several times and the driver had to be …

County sheriff’s deputies investigated a crash yesterday afternoon on Fawn River Road in Sturgis Township, when a car rear-ended a horse and buggy. The car was driven by 28-year-old Nicholas Conner of Sturgis. The driver of the buggy was Lavon Knepp, age 30, of Shipshewana. All three occupants of the buggy were ejected. A buggy passenger, 30-year-old Ester Knepp, sustained …

St. Joseph County District Judge Jeff Middleton has issued a statement regarding the anniversary of a grim case in Three Rivers. Middleton said Dec. 2 marks the 25-year anniversary of the homicide of Cathy Swartz. The case remains unsolved. Middleton recounted that Swartz was brutally murdered in her apartment at the Riverside Townhouses while her young daughter was in the …

Troopers from the White Pigeon state police detachment are investigating separate theft incidents reported earlier this month in Fabius and Mottville townships. In the first case, an 18-foot car-hauler trailer was stolen from a Fabius Township residence in the 14000 block of Gleason Road. The trailer was likely stolen between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. Troopers were called last week …