Police

Michigan State Police is conducting a joint investigation with Michigan’s Department of Corrections into an incident of smuggling contraband into the Lakeland correctional facility in Coldwater. The suspect is a 69-year-old attorney from Livonia. The attorney faces felony offenses involving illegal controlled substances being brought into the prison under the guise of an attorney-client visit. The investigation started last month, …

Authorities are investigating the theft of a kayak taken last week in Florence Township. Michigan State Police troopers were called to the 16000 block of Mintdale Road in response to a kayak stolen between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday. The kayak is a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120, light blue in color with black accents. A double paddle, black in …

A Sturgis man was injured last weekend after failing to stop at a stop sign in LaGrange County. Authorities said Jamie Espinal-Albor, 33, was driving north on LaGrange County Road 100 East on Saturday when he failed to stop at the intersection of State Road 120. Espinal-Albor’s vehicle pulled into the path of an eastbound sheriff’s department SUV. Its lights …

The family of an elderly woman, missing since late May, is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts. Undersheriff Jason Bingaman said the sheriff’s office is continuing its search for 73-year-old Marilee Furlong, who was last seen May 29 in the area of Flatbush Road in Flowerfield Township. Bingaman said Furlong’s family is offering a $10,000 reward …

A plea agreement has been reached with a Branch County man related to his role in a fatal car crash last year. Prosecutor Zach Stempien said the agreement was made with Dylan Sadger. The 19-year-old Sadger in May 2022 was behind the wheel of a SUV traveling east on Sikorski Road in Bethel Township. Sadger failed to stop at the …

An Illinois man was injured in a single-vehicle crash last weekend in Cass County’s Howard Township. Sheriff’s deputies were called shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday to M-60, near Lake Shore Drive, in response to a car that had gone off the roadway. The driver, 23-year-old Jelani Clark, of Flossmoor, was driving on M-60 when he lost control of his vehicle. …

A Vicksburg man died in a single-vehicle crash over the weekend in Fabius Township. Undersheriff Jason Bingaman said deputies were called Saturday, shortly before midnight, to an area on Corey Lake Road, east of Knevels Court, in response to a personal-injury crash. Deputies said 24-year-old Triston Bradshaw was driving a vehicle east on Corey Lake Road, where his vehicle lost …

An Elkhart man was hospitalized after he walked into traffic onto U.S. 131 in White Pigeon Township. Undersheriff Jason Bingaman said deputies were called shortly before 4:30 a.m. Monday to U.S. 131, south of Indian Prairie Road, in response to a car-versus-pedestrian incident. Investigators said a 40-year-old Three Rivers man was driving south on U.S. 131 when a 39-year-old Elkhart …

A motorcyclist was injured over the weekend in a crash southeast of Mendon. State Police troopers responded Saturday to the intersection of M-66 and Jacksonburg Road in response to a single-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle. Investigators said the motorcyclist was driving at a high rate of speed northbound on M-66. A witness told authorities the driver lost control of the …

St. Joseph County Undersheriff Jason Bingaman says the agency plans to use grant money to enforce a new law that went into effect last week. Three House bills focusing on districted driving went into effect Saturday. Essentially, the law forbids use of a hand-held cell phone while driving. This includes use of a mobile electronic device to do any task, …