North Judson Man Arrested For Alleged Battery

Posted on Author WKVI

Formal charges are pending against a North Judson man who allegedly was involved in a domestic battery issue Sunday.

North Judson police responded to a call of a domestic dispute in the 300 block of Franklin Avenue. A woman called police to say she was battered by her husband, Jeffrey Jacobs, in front of a child. She called 911 to report the incident but he took the phone from her and hid.

After an initial investigation by North Judson Police and with the assistance from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Knox City Police Department, Jacobs was located and taken into custody. He was arrested on preliminary charges of Domestic Battery, Resisting Law Enforcement and Interfering with the Reporting of a Crime. He was booked in the Starke County Jail.

Starke County Council Approves Sheriff’s Request For Second New Vehicle

Posted on Author WKVI
Sheriff Oscar Cowen
Sheriff Oscar Cowen

Starke County Sheriff Oscar Cowen gets to go car shopping, as the county council this week approved his request to purchase a second new squad car.

The council had previously heard a request from Cowen for three new squad cars before the end of the year, but the council decided to approve the first vehicle and see where they’d be budget-wise toward the end of the year. Since then, Cowen said he has received the first car, but now he’s back to see about getting the second.

Continue reading →

Knox Elementary School Briefly Locked Down Yesterday

Posted on Author WKVI

A domestic dispute in Knox led police to lock down the Knox Elementary School as a precaution yesterday.

Knox City Police were called to a Knox residence in response to threats that had been made toward family members. When police arrived on the scene, officers learned that the threats that had been made were related to a domestic incident that had occurred the night before. Unfortunately, the male subject had left the home before officers arrived and authorities believed he was in an unstable state of mind.

Continue reading →

Starke County Police Arrest Three On Warrants

Posted on Author WKVI

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department arrested three people on outstanding warrants Friday morning.

Stephan Buckingham and James Hattery were arrested on warrants for probation violations. Hattery had been sentenced to time in the Department of Corrections in 2010 and after serving his sentence in the DOC, he was placed on probation. While on probation, police say he committed Domestic Battery as a Class D felony and Intimidation as a Class D felony, prompting a warrant to be issued for his arrest. Hattery will appear in the Starke Circuit Court tomorrow for a hearing.

Continue reading →

Oh, Deer!

Posted on Author WKVI
A deer reportedly jumped through a window at this home on Lake Street

It’s one of those things that you just have to see it to believe it.

One Knox resident was surprised to find out that a deer had jumped through a picture window at his home on W. Lake Street Sunday morning.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department received a call from a resident on Lake Street who stated that a deer reportedly had just jumped through his neighbor’s picture window.  It jumped in and jumped right back out again.  No other damage was reported to the home.

The Knox City Police Department responded to the scene.

Knox Man Pleads Guilty to Intent to View Child Pornography

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last week to the felony offense of Accessing with the Intent to View Child Pornography.

In December 2011, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department investigated allegations that 41-year-old Jeffrey Farmer was involved in a child molestation incident and officers obtained a federal search warrant to search his computer. Agents discovered images depicting child pornography. Charges were brought about as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Office of Homeland Security Investigations, Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Hammond Police Department.

Sentencing in this case has been set for Feb. 4, 2013.

Knox Man Arrested For Threatening Girlfriend With a Gun

Posted on Author WKVI

Police arrested a Knox man Wednesday after he allegedly went berserk, knocking over furniture before grabbing a shotgun and threatening his girlfriend.

At around 12:25 p.m. on Halloween, Police were dispatched to 6611 E. Toto Rd. in response to a female caller who advised her boyfriend had “destroyed” the residence, broke her cell phone so she could not call police, and then left the residence with a shotgun. She told police when they arrived that she and her boyfriend, Brent Komon, had been arguing all morning, but he became belligerent and knocked over a five-foot-tall cabinet. The victim told police that she then left the residence to take her son to a doctor’s appointment, but as she was leaving, she noticed him carrying a gun into the residence.

Continue reading →

Knox Man Arrested For Allegedly Battering Girlfriend

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox man was arrested Tuesday after an alleged battery incident.

The victim told police that she and her boyfriend, Chaney Campos, reportedly had a verbal argument a few days prior to this incident and he allegedly caused injury to her arm after he squeezed it. The next day, they were arguing and he reportedly pushed her off the bed, injuring her. On Tuesday, she and Campos got into an argument once again and she walked away from him. He then allegedly pushed her up against a wall in the kitchen and grabbed her throat, restricting her breathing. They continued to argue and he then kicked her out of the apartment they shared.

Continue reading →

Starke Co. Sheriff’s Dept. To Utilize Electronic Ticketing

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department will soon be streamlining operations when issuing traffic tickets or warnings.

A Sheriff’s Department representative and IT Director Joe Short attended a training session last week in electronic ticketing. With this system, when an officer pulls over a suspected traffic violator, the officer will be able to scan a Driver’s License and vehicle registration into a mobile computer, plus fill out the necessary violation information, edit any information – like an address – and print out the ticket at the time of the traffic stop. This puts the information of the traffic stop into the state computer system and lessens the paperwork and time of the traffic stop.

Continue reading →

Police Arrest Two From Knox For Manufacturing Meth In Vacant Home

Posted on Author WKVI

Two Knox residents were arrested Wednesday after a call came in about the pair being inside a vacant home.

Knox City Police officers and deputies from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department arrived at 250 W. Locust Dr. where they found 53-year-old Tony Clemons and 42-year-old Melissa McCarty. The officers found them to be involved in the process of manufacturing methamphetamine and in possession of other illegal narcotics.

The Indiana State Police Clandestine Lab Team was called to the residence to remove the hazardous chemicals from the scene and Clemons and McCarty were taken to the Starke County Jail. They face preliminary charges of Illegal Drug Lab, Dealing Methamphetamine, and drug possession charges.

Starke County Sheriff’s Dept. Radio Tower Antennas Replaced

Posted on Author WKVI
IT Director Joe Short

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department’s radio tower is back up and running at near-full capacity, but IT Director Joe Short said it’s still not in ideal condition. Because the tower had been damaged during the storm, it was shortened, and new regulations in the city of Knox prohibit the department from building a tower taller than 100 feet.

Radio engineers had replaced the two antennas atop the tower earlier this week at an estimated cost of $2200 per antenna, but Short said the final price came out less than that at around $4000 total. He said there was some concern over whether or not the coax cable would need to be replaced running up the tower; fortunately, however, he said the coax cable checked out and they are running between 99–100 percent efficiency. While it’s not ideal, and the antennas do not have the range they would like, Short said this is as good as it’s going to get until they decide on the location for the new tower.

Continue reading →

Three Arrested after Police Execute Search Warrant

Posted on Author WKVI

Three people were arrested late Tuesday night after a search warrant was conducted at a home in Knox.

Officers from the Knox City Police Department, Hamlet Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department conducted a search warrant at 403 S. Shield Street in Knox where an active methamphetamine lab was found. Two children were in the home at the time of the incident and Indiana Department of Child Services was called to the scene to get them into a safer environment.

Continue reading →

North Judson Man Arrested After Shooting At Neighbor’s Home

Posted on Author WKVI

A North Judson man was arrested Thursday after a bullet fired from his gun allegedly went through a young girl’s bedroom window and grazed her in the back.

At 12:30 a.m., Donnie Greer told Starke County police that he was awoken to the sound of a crash in his daughter’s bedroom. He thought at first that it may have been a shelf that fell, but then he heard his daughter crying. When he entered her room, he saw a bullet hole in the window and found that a bullet had grazed his daughter in the back. After canvassing the area, police found that the shot could have originated from a neighbor’s house.

Continue reading →

Five Arrested After Search Of Knox Residence

Posted on Author WKVI

Five people were arrested Wednesday after a search warrant was executed at a Starke County residence.

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Knox City Police Department and the Probation Department went to 11240 E. State Road 8 and announced their presence at the residence. Officers knocked a few times and attempted to kick in the door. At that time, Austin Owens opened the door for the police. An officer read the contents of the search warrant and police conducted a search.

Continue reading →

Woman Arrested For Trafficking With Starke County Inmate

Posted on Author WKVI

A Knox woman was arrested after allegedly trafficking with an inmate at the Starke County Jail.

Ashley Cooke arrived at the jail and gave the jailer some items for an inmate. The jailer was suspicious of the items so he inspected them. The jailer reportedly found a plastic baggie containing tobacco and two foil packs containing a white powdery substance inside a deodorant container. The powdery substance field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

Officers took her into custody and Ashley Cooke has preliminary charges of Dealing in Methamphetamine and Trafficking with Inmates. She is held on a $30,000 surety bond.