Police

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department was called to Camp Eberhart this week in response to a man with a firearm in the woods near the camp. Sheriff’s officials said deputies responded to the Fabius Township property shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The man was described as an older white male, wearing a stocking cap, maroon Carhart jacket and blue …

A crash Monday in Fawn River Township led to a lengthy interruption of internet and other services in St. Joseph County. According to Michigan State Police, the crash occurred just before 6 p.m. on Fawn River Road near Big Hill Road. A tractor-trailer driven by John Smoll of Elida, Ohio, was hauling an excavator that was over the legally allowed …

State police investigators out of the Coldwater detachment are looking into an explosion earlier this week in Branch County’s Sherwood Township. The incident occurred at 9:50 p.m. Monday inside a dumpster in the 100 block of Oliverda Drive. Authorities said the explosion was heard up to half a mile away and scattered debris more than 60 feet out of the …

A Three Rivers teen will appear in court this week on a charge of armed robbery. St. Joseph County court officials said 17-year-old Austin Palmer has a preliminary examination scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday in St. Joseph County District Court. Palmer was arrested March 19 after he was confronted by security personnel at the Three Rivers Menard’s after allegedly attempting …

State police officials are investigating a Calhoun County fatality that is being termed suspicious. Troopers responded at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday to the eastbound lane of I-94, just west of Capital Avenue, where a 59-year-old woman was found unresponsive inside her vehicle. Her car was in a ditch alongside the freeway. Authorities said the woman’s name is Vanessa Wilder, though her …

Authorities say a Michigan State Police trooper has shot and wounded a man who refused to drop what turned out to be an airsoft gun. Police say the 36-year-old was being sought on felony warrants and authorities got word he was in a church parking lot Monday evening in the Hastings area. Police tried to block the man from driving …

A 41-year-old Three Rivers man is in custody relating to an arson incident last week at Maple Crest Apartments. Members of the Three Rivers Fire Department were summoned at 5:30 a.m. Saturday to building 1006, where a fire alarm had sounded. A resident found a trash can on fire inside the building’s common area and heavy smoke throughout the structure. …

State police investigators are appealing to the public in hopes of securing details regarding the theft of stolen guns last fall in Calhoun County’s Athens Township. According to a department media release, the incident occurred Oct. 20 at a pole barn on 2 Mile Road, where a compound bow and two shotguns were stolen. Authorities described the bow as a …

Public safety officers are getting new, standardized guns in a lakeside city in western Michigan. The Muskegon City Commission approved a plan last month to spend nearly $50,000 of drug forfeiture money to purchase 90 new 9mm handguns and holsters. Muskegon police officers previously had to buy their own pistols when hired. “I haven’t ever worked for a department that …

St. Joseph County Central’s Dispatch had a demanding year in 2017, marked by failures of equipment, shortage of manpower and a significant amount of overtime. Still, director Dennis Brandenburg, said the agency between 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls fielded more than 96,000 calls last year. The information was provided during a recent annual report presented to the St. Joseph County Board …