Police

A half block of businesses in downtown Colon was destroyed by fire Friday morning. The blaze was reported around 9:30 a.m. by Curly’s owners Dan and Kathy Earl, who told firefighters it appears the fire started in the kitchen area. Despite the efforts from nearly a dozen departments, the blaze spread to the east and consumed Five Star Pizza and …

Three children were injured in a two-vehicle accident over the weekend in Florence Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said 43-year-old Melissa Sandker of Constantine was driving north on Lutz Road when her vehicle crossed over the center line and struck a southbound van driven by Jennifer Nusbaum-Suits, 41, of Constantine. The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday. …

A former St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department corrections officer pled guilty Wednesday to two counts of larceny. Stephen Morris, a 39-year-old Fulton resident, pled guilty in Van Buren County Circuit Court. He was arrested following a Jan. 9 incident during which he stole prescription drugs, investigators said. A 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, Morris will be sentenced April 8.

A 3-year-old boy was taken from a Sturgis residence Wednesday morning after his parents were arrested for drug-related offenses. According to a Sturgis Police Department media release, Children Protection Services officials were at a Cato Lane Apartment complex unit when they noticed two crack pipes on a bedroom end table. Police were called and upon further investigation, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia …

A 52-year-old man from Canada was arrested in Lockport Township last week on a federal warrant. Anthony Sove  was arrested by the St. Joseph County Special Response Team at 7 a.m. March 1 at a residence in the 57000 block of Haines Road, according to authorities. Sove was deported after having been convicted of an aggravated felony offense, but illegally …

A police investigation that spanned several weeks culminated early Wednesday with the arrest of six people on charges related to methamphetamine. The St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant in the 400 block of Center Street in Sturgis and arrested four male suspects and two females. Their names, ages and places of residence were not stated in …

A report of domestic violence led to the arrest of four men who were found to have an active methamphetamine lab inside their vehicle earlier this week in Sturgis. Police were called around 10:30 p.m. Sunday to a disturbance and subsequently stopped a vehicle at Lakeview Avenue and Myrtle Street to question one of its passengers. Officers recognized one of …

Four men between the ages of 17 and 27 were charged last week with methamphetamine-related offenses in Sturgis. Sturgis police said they responded around 5 p.m. Friday to a report of an unusual odor emitting from a residential unit at the Cato Lane Apartment complex. Officers secured a search warrant and found the four were involved in the production of …

Michigan State Police investigators are looking into a breaking-and-entering incident reported last week in Constantine Township. According to a department media release, a Polaris all-terrain vehicle, a .44-magnum revolver, two televisions, a pair of computers, frozen meat and other items were stolen from the residence, located on County Line Road, south of M-60. The incident was reported Saturday, though the …

A 14-year-old girl missing from Three Rivers was located over the weekend in Kent County, Three Rivers Police said. Fourteen-year-old Alejandra Rubi had been missing since Feb. 21. After Rubi’s disappearance, police said she had phone contact with her mother the following day and told her mother she was alright, but no longer in Three Rivers. She was found Saturday …