Police

State police troopers are investigating the theft of copper wire from an irrigation system in Park Township. The victim said the incident occurred between Sept. 1 and 15 in an area along Carpenter Road, between Heimbach and Edgerton roads, where electrical wire was cut from two spans of a nearby irrigation pivot. The incident was reported at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities say an ambulance driver was injured in a collision involving a semi-truck in southwestern Michigan. The crash happened early Tuesday in Van Buren County’s Paw Paw Township and prompted authorities to close a stretch of M-51 as crews responded. The sheriff’s office says the truck rolled over after hitting the ambulance. The driver of the ambulance had what were …

State police troopers are investigating a series of break-ins and attempted break-ins that occurred last week in Colon Township. According to a department media release, the incidents occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. Friday in the 30000 block of Brandt Road. The break-ins and attempted break-ins occurred while residents were asleep. A wallet and other valuables were stolen, according to …

State police troopers are investigating a breaking-and-entering incident that occurred between 6 and 9 p.m. Sept. 7 in the 20000 block of Mahnke Road in Lockport Township. Authorities said suspects broke into a detached garage and stole several items, including a shotgun and pellet gun.

Michigan State Police staff members are being deployed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional response-coordination center in Philadelphia to provide support as a liaison between state and federal agencies related to the impending arrival of Hurricane Florence. The deployment is occurring as a result of a request made for out-of-state support through the National Emergency Management Agency. The MSP …

Officials have released the names of two people who died after a boating accident in southwestern Michigan. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office says the boat was crossing from Tub Lake to Barton Lake when it struck the top of a cement barrier under Portage Road Saturday evening in Schoolcraft Township. The department says in a statement Monday that 56-year-old Anthony …

A fuel tanker caught fire on the U.S. 31/20 bypass in South Bend, sending flames high into the predawn sky and damaging the roadway’s pavement. Police say residents were evacuated from some nearby homes after the fire started about 4:30 a.m. Monday on the city’s far west side near South Bend International Airport. They were able to return a few …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has authorized seven charges against Fernando Mendoza Cruz. The 37-year-old Sturgis man was charged Friday with three counts of kidnapping, and one count for each offense of fleeing and eluding, carrying a concealed weapon, felony firearm and domestic violence. He remains in the St. Joseph County Jail with a $250,000 cash/ surety bond. An …

Troopers from Michigan State Police are investigating a felonious assault by a 42-year-old man who used a hunting knife as a weapon. Investigators were called at 11 p.m. Thursday to the 400 block of River Road in Branch County’s Batavia Township. The suspect threatened to kill his mother. He also kept her from leaving the residence for several hours. The …

Authorities from several Michigan and Indiana police agencies helped in an effort to track a suspect responsible for the issuance of an Amber Alert early Thursday. According to Sturgis Police Chief Geoff Smith, the child-abduction alert was issued after 37-year-old Fernando Mendoza Cruz was allegedly responsible for an assault at his residence, in the 100 block of Pioneer Street. Officers …