Police

Two southwestern Michigan residents face charges in northern Indiana in the death of a 10-year-old girl who died after ingesting methamphetamine. Prosecutors say the girl and her 9-year-old sibling were taken to an Elkhart home last June by her father, 34-year-old Brandon Hobbs, and his 30-year-old girlfriend, Erica Reschke. The girl died at the home. Toxicology tests revealed high levels …

A pursuit that started in Elkhart County ended after a standoff at a residence in Cass County. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies assisted Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department deputies, who were in pursuit of a suspect with multiple felony warrants. The pursuit crossed into Cass County shortly before 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The vehicle was pursued to the Edwardsburg area, where the …

Northern Indiana police say a home burglary suspect allegedly offered two homeowners who found him inside their house $200 not to call police. Thirty-one-year-old Casey Madden of Elkhart was charged last month in a September home burglary. He remains jailed at Elkhart County’s jail on burglary and other charges. Court documents say the homeowners returned home Sept. 30 to find …

Driving while holding a cellphone soon will be illegal in one southern Michigan city. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that a new ordinance goes into effect Friday in Battle Creek, but police don’t plan to ticket drivers — just yet — for typing, scrolling or talking on phones without the use of hands-free devices. City officials say enforcement will start …

Authorities say a Michigan man was fatally struck by a car while trying to remove his daughter’s dead cat from a roadway before she saw it. Saginaw County sheriff’s officials say 50-year-old Andrew Rosas of Merrill was struck before sunrise Tuesday by a woman who was driving to work and apparently didn’t see him. Investigators say Rosas was wearing dark …

A 90-year-old Fabius Township woman died last week after she was locked out of her house and froze to death. Authorities said the body of Ada Salna was found around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on the steps of her home on Kurzeme Road, in the vicinity of Long Lake. Pathologist Joyce deJong said Salna died of hypothermia. Investigators said Salna had …

Sheriff Richard J. Behnke advises that stuck vehicles blocking plows and current road conditions in Cass County are making travel unsafe.    Cass County area is experiencing near-blizzard conditions.  Frequent whiteouts, resulting in slide offs and stuck vehicles are causing dangerous road conditions for traveling emergency crews and road commission plows, in addition to record low wind chills and temperatures adding to life …

A southwestern Michigan police officer who fired five shots at a stolen car has been acquitted of reckless discharge of a gun. A jury in Van Buren County returned the verdict Friday. Chelsey Omilian was a Mattawan officer in November 2017 when she fired at a Chevrolet Impala. A woman inside the car was injured. Omilian’s lawyer says she fired …

Ice was cited as the culprit of a two-vehicle accident over the weekend in Cass County’s Penn Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly before 11 p.m. Friday to the intersection of M-60 and Calvin Center Road. Investigators said Noe Herrero, a 58-year-old Elkhart resident, was unable to stop his vehicle on Calvin Center Road due to the …

Two Calvin Township residents suspected of being involved in a number of burglaries throughout the area have been arrested by deputies from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Richard Behnke said a large quantity of stolen property was recovered from an address on Brownsville Road after the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team and deputies executed a search warrant related to …