Pretrial Motion and Instruction Hearings Held in Starke Circuit Court

Several pretrial motions and instructions hearings were held in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday. Jeannie Brewer, charged with Battery as a Class D Felony and Attempted Violation of a Custody Order, made her appearance in court with her attorney Richard Ballard. The state requested a continuance in this case, because the responding officer, Dave Combs, would be unavailable for the trial. The state said that they would like to have Combs take the stand and testify as to the statement he originally received from the victim because the victim has changed his story several times. Judge Kim Hall granted this continuation, and the trial has been scheduled for August 10th at 9:00 a.m. with a pretrial motions and instructions hearing on August 9th at 9:00 a.m.

In the case of Nathan Clark, charged with Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Syringe, Possession of Paraphernalia, and Driving While Suspended, the defense agreed to enter guilty pleas to the counts of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of a Syringe, and the defense and state will both recommend the same sentence: Clark would receive 26 months in the Department of Corrections, be required to participate in the CLIFF program, and receive a license suspension for six months. After the CLIFF program, Clark would be able to petition the court for a modification of his sentence, which would allow him to be placed on home electronic monitoring through Community Corrections. His plea date is set for August 4th at 1:30 p.m.

The charges against Robert Singleton, arrested on November 30th, 2010 for Assisting a Criminal, will be dropped and his case will be dismissed.

For Ricky Hoffer, charged with being a Habitual Traffic Violator, a Class D Felony, and Failing to Surrender a Suspended or Revoked License, his case will be dismissed but the State will refile charges in the City Court.