Accident Claims Life of a Knox High School Student

Drew Shearin

A Knox High School student was killed in a single vehicle accident late Monday night.

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department said that 17-year-old Andrew “Drew” Shearin was traveling eastbound on State Road 8 when for some unknown reason, his vehicle left the roadway and struck a NIPSCO utility pole. The accident occurred just east of the Yellow River Bridge. Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers and Washington Township Fire Department personnel found him trapped in the vehicle and he was pronounced dead at the scene.  Starke County EMS and the Knox City Police Department assisted at the scene.

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Two Arrested on Charges of Residential Entry

Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers arrested a Knox and a North Judson resident Wednesday night after they were found to be in a residence in which they were not allowed.

Officers were called to a residence on 150 North where a woman taking care of the homeowner’s children tried to gain entry into the home to gather clothes for the children. When she put the key in the door, the door simply pushed open. She told officers that she locked the door before she left the home earlier in the day. When officers arrived on scene, they saw a different woman, Kristen Thompson, coming out of the home. She was asked if anyone else was in the home and she said Donnie Fletcher was in the home. Officers called for Fletcher to come out of the house and he didn’t answer. While searching the home, they heard a crash from the garage and found Fletcher standing on the stair platform. He was placed into custody. Police found methamphetamine related items and the finished product in the residence. A search warrant was issued to collect the items.

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One Person Injured in an Accident in Starke County

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department was called to a one vehicle accident on State Road 39 on Tuesday.

A witness told police that he saw Vivianna Hernandez, 33, of Knox, southbound on State Road 39 near 200 South and she left the roadway, hit a mailbox and then hit a tree. Officers determined at the scene that she had been drinking at the time of the accident. She was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital for injuries sustained in the accident and for a blood draw to determine blood alcohol level. The results of that blood draw are pending.

Search Warrant Nets Four Arrests in Knox

Ellis Clemons
Brandie Kotras
Tracie Young
Steve Wilson

Four Knox residents were arrested Friday morning after officers from the Knox City Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at 202 W. Locust Drive in Knox.

Officers had received complaints about methamphetamine being used in the residence around small children and after an investigation, a search warrant was issued. Arrested were Ellis Clemons, 44, and Brandie Kotras, 33, who have preliminary charges of Possession of a Legend Drug and Maintaining a Common Nuisance. 25-year-old Tracie Young has preliminary charges of Possession of Marijuana and Maintaining a Common Nuisance. Steve Wilson, 40, was also arrested and he has preliminary charges of Possession of Marijuana, Maintaining a Common Nuisance and Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.

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Plymouth Woman Arrested after Police Pursuit

Kristy Jimerson

An officer from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Plymouth woman after a pursuit incident Tuesday afternoon.

A caller notified the Sheriff’s Department of an intoxicated driver leaving the area of 900 East and 300 North in Starke County. A detective was in the area and spotted the suspect vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the vehicle failed to stop. The detective pursued the vehicle from 150 North and State Road 23 in Starke County to Plymouth and then to Culver. The driver stopped the vehicle after a minor vehicle accident in Marshall County on Tulip Road, just north of 14B road.

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Granger Man Injured in Vehicle Rollover in Starke County

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department were called to a single vehicle rollover Wednesday afternoon on U.S. 35 just north of 300 North.

The driver, Douglas Kline, 67, of Granger, Indiana, told police that he was traveling north on U.S. 35 and he must have dozed off. The vehicle left the roadway and flipped in a ditch on the west side of the road. Kline suffered minor injuries in the accident. He was transported to IU Health Starke Hospital for treatment.

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Two Suspects Arrested on Arson Charges

Ryan Taylor
Kenneth K. Wallace

Two men were arrested Tuesday after they were found to have set a vehicle on fire on the Gurley residence in Monterey.

Police were called after a witness saw a vehicle leaving the scene of a vehicle fire. Police approached the suspect vehicle and found Knox residents 35-year-old Ryan Taylor and 34-year-old Kenneth K. Wallace inside. The officer said that he was investigating a vehicle fire and told Taylor that it was his mother’s 2002 Pontiac Grand Am that was on fire. He said that the vehicle was in town at his grandmother’s house and it had been there for some time and it needed transmission work.

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Starke County Sheriff’s Department Investigates Accident Near Hamlet

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an accident that occurred Friday at 600 East and 700 North.

The accident involved a pickup truck and a moped. The driver of the moped, whose name has not been released by police, was taken to IU Health Starke Hospital and later airlifted by Med Flight to Memorial Hospital Trauma Center where he was listed in critical condition. The driver of the pickup truck was not injured in the accident.

The names of either individual have not been released. The Starke County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the Hamlet Fire Department, Starke County EMS and the Koontz Lake Fire Department.

North Judson Man Arrested on Charges of Auto Theft, Criminal Mischief

Danny Manns

Officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department apprehended a North Judson man after he was allegedly involved in a bar fight and ended up destroying a motel room Wednesday night in North Judson.

Police were called to the Route 10 Bar and Grill after an alleged fight had occurred between two individuals. The suspect, Danny Manns, left the premises. Police later found the suspect vehicle in the park and it was unoccupied. Police learned that the vehicle Manns was driving belonged to Joe Brown of Knox who said Manns should not have been in possession of the vehicle. Police searched the area and was unable to find Manns.

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Starke County Police Remove 12 Dogs from Knox Residence

The Starke County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an incident involving alleged neglected dogs.

According to officials at the Sheriff’s Department, a resident called police on Friday to report that her neighbor is neglecting her dogs. There were dogs inside the residence and no one had been around for days. A couple of days later, police received a call from a resident stating that her dog had been stolen and she believed her neighbor took the dog and sold it in Chicago. On Sunday, police went to the residence at 2230 East and 150 South in Knox, owned by Joanne Coronado. Officers obtained a search warrant and found 12 dogs inside the residence. They were removed from the premises and were released to the custody of the Starke County Humane Society. The health department was also called to the scene and after an investigation, condemned the residence.

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Shop with a Cop Event Held Yesterday in Knox

Left to right: Starke County Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman, Jeremiah Patrick, Monica Collins, Harold Smith, James Upsall, Rob Olejniczack, Rich Gast, Caitlyn Hinshaw, Melissa Osburn, Sandy Binkley, Hugo Reese, Chris Kisela, and Bob Leffert.

Officers from the Kankakee Valley Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #129 participated in a Shop with a Cop event yesterday at ALCO in Knox. Chris Kisela, Knox City Police Officer and FOP President, talked about yesterday’s event:

“We’ve been doing fundraisers over the summer. We’ve raised over $2000 so far. We’ll take that $2000 and spend it on school clothes. The kids will have $100 each to buy school clothes for the upcoming school year,” said Kisela.

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Rensselaer Man Charged with Theft in Starke County

Jason Richie

A Rensselaer man was arrested Saturday after he was seen stealing a chainsaw from a garage in the North Judson area.

The suspect, who was later identified as Jason Richie, reportedly walked in a garage owned by Richard Anderson and walked out with a chainsaw, according to the Starke County Sheriff’s Department report. Anderson’s son-in-law, Samuel Denno, reportedly ran outside with a gun to stop Richie. Denno told police that the man allegedly threw the chainsaw in some weeds when he saw that Denno followed him into a wooded area. Denno later told police that he didn’t know the man but could identify the man if police apprehended him.

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James Campbell Charged with Possessing a Stolen Weapon

Starke County Police officers arrested James Campbell, 43, of Knox early Thursday morning after he failed to comply with police when officers ordered him to get out of his vehicle and away from loaded weapons.

Police were called to a church on Toto Road after a citizen reported a male subject acting suspiciously on the property. When police arrived, the reporting officer found James Campbell in his vehicle. The officer got out of his vehicle and approached Campbell’s vehicle and asked him to step out of the truck. Campbell ignored the officer. Campbell was asked several more times to exit the vehicle. The reporting officer noted in his report that he asked Campbell to show him his hands and Campbell reportedly started to fidget with something underneath his seat. The officer drew his weapon and told Campbell to show him his hands. He did show his hands and had nothing in them at the time.

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Four Arrested on Meth Related Charges in Knox

Nathan Vermilyer
Joshua Givens
Elizabeth Boyd
Gabriel French

Four people were arrested Saturday after officers from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department served an arrest warrant on a Knox man.

Officers arrived at 0655 S. State Road 23 in Knox to serve an arrest warrant on Gabriel French. Officers found an active methamphetamine lab at the residence. While officers were waiting for the search warrant, several other subjects arrived at the residence and were detained. While executing the search warrant, officers found several methamphetamine labs, precursors, drug paraphernalia and several hand written notes on how to manufacture methamphetamine.

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Kristopher Rogers Arrested after Home Search

Kristopher Rogers

A Knox man was arrested Friday after a home search found the suspect in possession of legend drugs.

Starke County Sheriff’s Department officers and a probation officer went to the home of Kristopher Rogers and reportedly found ammunition, paraphernalia and a pill bottle with several pills, according to police. Rogers told police that he had prescriptions for the pills and that it was from three or four years ago.

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