The Attorney General will be representing Starke County in an oral argument to be heard in the Indiana Supreme Court Thursday at 9:45 a.m. ET.
This hearing surrounds the case of Robert Corbin.
Corbin was arrested in April 2012 on two charges of Attempted Child Seduction, as Class D felonies. It was alleged that a then-sixteen-year-old student had been receiving inappropriate Facebook messages from Corbin who at the time was a teacher at the Knox Community School Corporation.
A Starke County jury returned guilty verdicts on two of the three drug charges against a Knox woman late Wednesday. They found Shari Melton guilty of possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana, according to Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff. Melton was found not guilty of possession of precursors or chemical reagents. Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall will sentence her at a later date.
A motion was filed and signed to drop the criminal charges against Todd Boldry in an agreement that he would surrender his teaching license permanently.
Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff explained that the victim in the case didn’t want Boldry to necessarily get prison time for the offense that occurred between 2007 and 2008; she just wanted him to lose the ability to teach.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall set a $15,000 bond for Knox Community School swim coach Robert R. Corbin, who is charged with two counts of Attempted Child Seduction as Class D felonies. Corbin, 27, is also prohibited from making any contact with the victim.
In the affidavit in support of probable cause filed today in circuit court by Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff and prepared by Knox City Police Department Detective David Combs, it is alleged that on Wednesday, March 28, Knox Police Department Officer Chad Keen responded to a call and went to a residence in Knox. He was informed by the victim’s father that his sixteen-year-old daughter had been receiving inappropriate messages from a Knox teacher, and Officer Keen took printed pages of Facebook messages between his daughter and Corbin.
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John Goble, Sr., former Street Superintendent for the Town of Hamlet, was recently arrested on a warrant for theft.
Police say that in January, Goble and his son, John Goble, Jr., resigned their positions with the street department after a disagreement with the Hamlet Town Board and the Board appointed Town Marshal Frank Lonigro III as the temporary Street Superintendent until a full-time replacement was found.
Lonigro was told by the Town Board members to conduct an inventory of all town equipment with the Street Department. Lonigro could not find a current equipment inventory list so he contacted Smith Farm Store, where most of the town’s equipment is purchased, to get a list of receipts for 2011. Lonigro reportedly found that equipment purchased and was signed for by John Goble, Sr. was unaccounted for in an inventory check. Alleged items that have not been accounted for totals $1,358.65.
Plea agreements have been filed in open court for Murriah Dailey and Robert Reed. Dailey was previously charged with two counts of Attempted Murder as a Class A felony, Attempted Escape, Robbery, Receiving Stolen Property, two counts of Resisting Law Enforcement, and Striking A Law Enforcement Animal. Reed faced charges of Robbery, Receiving Stolen Property, two counts of Resisting Law Enforcement, and one count of Habitual Traffic Violator. Murriah Dailey appeared in front of Starke Circuit Court Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese on March 26th 2012 and the plea agreement was found to be acceptable.
A special prosecutor has been named to handle the case against Sheriff Oscar Cowen in which claims of impropriety were filed by former deputy Don Ferguson. Curtis Hill of Elkhart County has been named, but he has not yet accepted the position. Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff petitioned for a special prosecutor because of his close work relationship with the Starke County Police.
The Special Judge assigned to the case, Honorable Jeffrey Thode of Porter Superior Court #6 located in Portage, Ind., will replace Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall who issued an Order of Recusal and Assignment of a Special Judge to the case.
The Indiana State Police have informed Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff that claims of impropriety have been brought against Sheriff Oscar Cowen by former deputy, Don Ferguson.
Because he works closely with the Starke County Police, Prosecutor Bourff petitioned for a special prosecutor to handle the claims. Also issuing an Order of Recusal and Assignment of Special Judge was Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall. The Special Judge assigned to the case is the Honorable Jeffrey Thode of Porter Superior Court #6 located in Portage, Indiana. This Judge will conduct all future proceedings including a ruling on the pending Petition for a Special Prosecutor.
Starke County Prosecuting Attorney Nick Bourff has moved to dismiss the charges against John Clemons due to a lack of evidence. Clemons was previously charged with Theft as a Class D felony after he was arrested on Sept. 10 for attempting to steal various scrap metal items from a residence in Knox.
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall has denied a request from Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff to appoint a special prosecutor to go forward in prosecuting Kenneth Wallace and Ryan Taylor in their upcoming court hearings.
In the request to the court, Bourff suggests that since the defendant’s father helped him in his election effort, a special prosecutor should be appointed.
With the case at its six-month mark since their arrest, four individuals allegedly involved in an animal fighting contest in February have been given another week for their attorney, Doug Shaw from Crown Point, to work with Starke County Prosecutor Nick Bourff to formulate an acceptable plea agreement. A request for change of venue by the defense was also denied. The defendants, Gilberto Narravo, Salvador Reyes, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, and Arnoldo Perez, were present in the Starke Cirtcuit courtroom with their wives acting as translators.
Stacie Brown is due in Starke Circuit Court today for an initial hearing on charges brought against her in the death of her three-year-old stepson, Ethan Brown. Stacie Brown was arrested on Friday, August 5th and Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff filed official charges against her that include Battery Resulting in Death and Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, both Class A Felonies.
Calling it nothing short of tragic, Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff announced the arrest of Stacie Brown on Friday who was charged in the death of her three-year-old stepson, Ethan Brown. Charges brought by the Prosecutor include Battery Resulting in Death and Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death. Both are Class A Felonies.
Starke County Prosecutor, Nicholas Bourff said that he and Deputy Prosecutor Mary Ryan and two detectives will be headed to South Bend to gain information into the death of a Knox toddler that happened June 19th
“We’re meeting with the pathologist who did the forensic autopsy,” said Bourff. “It has taken him longer to do the autopsy than we originally anticipated because he’s done more work than we originally knew he would be doing.”
The second day of the trial of Jack Haut in Starke Circuit Court ultimately ended in a verdict for one count of Reckless Homicide, a Class C felony after his truck struck the motorcycle of Tom White, killing him. After a brief deliberation, the 12-person jury returned with a guilty verdict, and Haut’s sentencing is set for August 17th at 11:00 a.m.
Starke County Prosecutor, Nicholas Bourff, said Friday that the death of a three-year-old Knox boy is still under investigation. The three-year-old died after being rushed to IU Health Starke Hospital by his father on June 19th. He was transferred to a South Bend Hospital where he passed away.
Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff said yesterday that the death of a three-year-old Knox boy is still under investigation. The three-year-old died after being rushed to IU Health Starke Hospital by his father on June 19th. He was transferred to a South Bend Hospital where he passed away.
Bourff said he still has not received the autopsy report from the St. Joseph County Coroner’s office.
Knox Police Detectives are still trying to piece together what happened Sunday afternoon that caused a 3-year-old boy to eventually die of a skull fracture. At this point, police and the Prosecutor’s Office are not releasing the names of the boy or the parents.
Prosecutor, Nicholas Bourff, fills in the details about the case.
The IU Toxicology Lab was recently audited and was found to have erroneous marijuana lab results that could potentially cause trouble in cases that involved those test results. Starke County Prosecutor, Nicholas Bourff, said he has received two notices involving marijuana cases.
“The toxicology department notified us several months back that they were being audited on some tests from between 2007 and 2009 that some mistakes may or may not have been made. Regardless, they have to notify us of those. We got our first two in and they arrived Monday morning. I’ve been reviewing those two and they were both on misdemeanor cases in Knox City Court and I believe they were from 2008. So far, I haven’t quite been able to determine if those results had anything to do with the outcome of their cases,” said Bourff.
Thirty-three cock fight enthusiasts were sentenced in Knox City Court Thursday. The men were charged with a misdemeanor count of Attending an Animal Fighting Contest. They attended a cock fight in Starke County in February.
Judge Charles Hasnerl fined the men $200 apiece, plus $180 in restitution to the Starke County Humane Society for putting the roosters down, and $164 in court costs. Each individual was also given a 12 month suspended sentence.
