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A prison term in excess of seven years was issued to a corporate official with South Haven-based Village Market Food Centers. Christopher Pratt, who was charged with embezzlement, was sentenced this week in a Kalamazoo federal court after the 42-year-old Pratt admitted a gambling addiction and an extensive car collection were financed through the $6 million he stole. Village Market …

Smoke emitting from inside a garbage bag led to drug-related charges against a Colon Township man Tuesday. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department earlier in the day acted on a citizen’s tip regarding a suspicious bag of what appeared to be trash alongside Decker Road in Colon Township. The St. Joseph County Area Narcotics squad was called to the scene …

The Sturgis Department of Public Safety will be looking for a new director, as Dave Northrop is stepping down next month. The 47-year-old Northrop was named dean of students at Eastwood Elementary School. The Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education chose Northrop from a field of nine candidates for the newly created position, which replaces the job of assistant principal. …

Centreville’s former department of public works director was sentenced to two years of probation after his involvement in the theft of gasoline from the village DPW garage. District court officials said 50-year-old Randy Baker, a Colon resident, was sentenced earlier this month after he earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement of less than $200. The misdemeanor and subsequent …

An employee who almost ruined a small grocery chain in southwestern Michigan has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for embezzlement. Christopher Pratt admits he stole more than $6 million from Village Market Food Centers, based in South Haven, while handling the financial books. He was sentenced Monday in Kalamazoo federal court. The 42-year-old Portage man had …

A Sturgis man died and another suffered serious injuries during a single-car crash in Sturgis Saturday morning. Sturgis police said Mark Edmisten, 28, died after the vehicle he was driving crashed into a tree at the intersection of Hatch and Jean streets. A passenger, 42-year-old Juan Ortiz, was airlifted to Bronson Methodist Hospital. Police said speed and alcohol appear to …

A 32-year-old White Pigeon man was airlifted to Borgess Medical Center Friday evening after he was involved in a motorcycle crash in Mottville Township. The incident occurred on U.S. 12 near Mann Road. The victim was identifed as Cheyenne King. He reportedly collided with the rear of a minivan which had stopped for construction.

A Sturgis man was airlifted to Borgess Hospital after the vehicle he was driving was struck by a utility trailer Tuesday in Fawn River Township. State police said James Ortmann was driving east on U.S. 12 when the trailer of a westbound vehicle driven by Sturgis resident Corey Roberts broke from the truck to which it was attached. The trailer …

The death of a University of Michigan medical student is being investigated as a homicide, Ann Arbor police said today. Paul DeWolf, 25, was found dead in his apartment a day earlier. A police investigation began around noon, and university police released a crime alert just before 11 p.m. Wednesday. DeWolf failed to arrive for a scheduled assignment at the …

Riverside Health Clinic was the recipient of a $10,000 grant Tuesday. Officials from the Three Rivers-based clinic said patients who require chronic-disease management for ailments such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension, will benefit the most from the gift presented by the Monsanto Fund. Cindy Kujacznski, executive director of the Riverside Health Clinic, said the majority of the donation will go …