Starke County NewsHawk
News and happenings in Starke County, IN

KNOX – Eleven men arrested in the February 26 raid on a cock fighting event northeast of North Judson appeared in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday for their initial hearing.

The remaining 60-plus men, who are charged with misdemeanor counts of attending a cock fight, are scheduled to appear in Judge Charles Hasnerl’s Knox City Court over the next two weeks, where most misdemeanor cases in the county are adjudicated.

All eleven men that appeared in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday are charged with a Class D felony, Animal Fighting Contest, and all of the men are suspected to have brought fighting cocks to the event, which was apparently held in an old corn crib on property .

The charges are eligible to be reduced to a misdemeanor, although there is no indication whether authorities may decide to make that adjustment.

Police from four Starke County departments participated in the raid at 400N 100W, which resulted in 76 arrests.

Police said that a cock fight was ongoing at the time of the raid, and that most of the men fled into fields , a ditch and woods nearby. Although none of the men were found with weapons, police report that some had to be halted only after police drew their weapons and ordered them to stop.

Reportedly, police confiscated over $50,000 in the raid.

Thursday, Starke County Police said that the renters of the home at the location are John Mathews Jr. and Connie Clemons. Police did not say whether the pair had been arrested, but an investigation into the cock fight is ongoing.

In all, 165 roosters were destroyed Saturday evening by Starke County Humane Starke County workers.

Starke Circuit Court judge Kim Hall played a DVD in Spanish to explain their rights to those undergoing hearings, and Hall attempted at first to use an interpreter on a telephone to translate for the mostly Spanish-speaking men, but eventually, Hall used family members who were willing to translate for the men,.

Three of the men have immigration holds on them, they will likely be transferred to INS, and it was unclear whether they would be returned to face the Starke County charges.

Those in court Wednesday were Jose Angel Salcedo, Francisco Reyes, Francisco Fernando Reyes, Benjamin Cervantes Villicana, Juan Gonzales, Jesus Salas, Giberto Navarro, Juan Carlos Rodriguez, Salvador Reyes, Bulmaro Perez, and Arnoldo Perez.

Four of the men remain in the Starke County Jail, while the remaining have bonded out at either a $10,000 or $15,000 bond.

Status hearings are set on March 17, and pre-trial conferences are set for May 11.

Press Release

Johnathan Chambers

NORTH JUDSON – Johnathan Chambers 18, of San Pierre, was arrested Wednesday night on preliminary charges of Armed Robbery and Felony Intimidation.

North Judson Police Chief Doug Vessely said that just after 8:30 p.m., Chambers, allegedly wearing a rubber mask and a camouflage jacket, entered the Carpenter’s Marathon Oil Station in North Judson with a knife, and demanded cash from the gas station clerk.

After he was unsuccessful in getting cash, Chambers was scared off and fled the area on foot.

North Judson Police officer Mathew Anderson apprehended the suspect, and after a short interrogation, Chambers was transported to the Starke County Jail.

KNOX – The Starke County Economic Development Foundation has purchased the former Rockwell Windows property at tax sale.

The Federal Group, which presently is located in the building and continues to produce windows and other construction oriented materials, with a work force of about 20 employees, working four days a week, is expected to remain in the building for the time being.

Federal Group’s sales have been greatly reduced with the downturn of the economy, and in direct proportion to that, the home construction and remodeling business.

The S.C.P. property sold Tuesday in the tax sale conducted at the Starke County Annex by the County Commissioners.

S.C.P., doing business as the Federal Group on Culver Road in Knox, had been placed on the sale for back taxes of $93,000.

The company’s four parcels of land and buildings were put on the auction, with opening bids of $300.00. The foundation, with Ben Osinski of the foundation’s board placing the bids The 40 acre parcel of land went for $500 and the other three parcels went for $300 each.

The Starke County Economic Development Foundation wanted to be assured that the property and buildings remained an industrial concern. If the four parcels are ever deeded to the Foundation, a decision will be made on how to market them.

According to terms of the auction, S.C.P. now has 120 days to redeem the property by paying the back taxes and added penalties.. If indeed the property is redeemed, the foundation will be able to get their money back from the Starke County Auditor.

In all, 131 properties were on the sale.

NORTH JUDSON – Starke County Sheriff’s Police, working with four other law enforcement agencies, broke up a cockfight tournament Saturday morning at a rural residence in the 400N block of Starke County roads 100W, at 480N, in a raid that would eventually net 76 arrests related to cockfighting, and resulting in almost 200 cockfighting roosters being euthanized.

The raid began with an anonymous telephone call at about 10 a.m. Saturday.

The caller, who Starke Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Bill Dulin called a “passerby”, related that there was “a large amount of unusual traffic in the area of County Roads 400N and 100W, at 480N, near North Judson.” They also saw some people carrying cages, and about 50 people and 20 vehicles at the site.

“I contacted Indiana State Police troopers, North Judson and Knox Police, the rest of our own officers and Indiana Department of Conservation officers,” Dulin said.

At about 10:45 a.m., units, armed with a search warrant, raided the location, which was down about a ¾ mile farm road.

Eventually, all of the arrestees, except for 12 who will be charged with felonies, were released with a bond under misdemeanor counts for attending an animal fighting contest. Police finished processing arrestees Sunday afternoon, and all but the 12 have been released under bond.

Those released will be asked to appear in Knox City Court on March 7 and 15. The others will likely be released Monday, after they post a $250 surety bond, and will have dates set for arraignment later in Starke Circuit Court.

The 12 will likely be charged with attending a fighting contest, while having an animal in their possession, although other charges could be added before they appear in court, as the investigation is continuing.

“When we pulled in, there were a large amount of people, 60-70, around a (corn crib). They all took off running, (dropping or throwing away spurs and other cock fighting paraphernalia towards a nearby ditch, through fields and woods.”

Police later found that the cock fights had been watched through slats in the old farm building, where a cock pit, or fighting ring, had been assembled with pieces of plywood nailed together.

Police followed them through the red brush, muddy fields, the ditch and wooded areas, finding some, according to Dulin, some in hallowed-out trees and logs. The officers also found one juvenile, who was barefoot, wearing no shoes.

“Several men brought ATVs, and that helped a lot, the juvenile was transported to (Indiana University Starke Hospital) and treated for frostbite.” Dulin said about the pursuit and captures., noting that some fled through the ditch, which was swollen with snow and rainwater run-off.

Those arrested were taken by a borrowed school bus to the Starke County Jail.

Many were held in the department’s garage, which is attached to the jail, until they were processed. The processing took into Sunday afternoon, as men could be seen waiting outside of the jail, waiting to pay bonds, or waiting on friends still inside the jail.

After arresting the men, police loaded the roosters, which were in cages, corrugated poultry boxes, and wooded containers, into police cars. Some containers and cages even had names and addresses on metal tags.

The cocks were later transported to the Starke County Humane Society by two trips in a fully-loaded dump truck, where eventually they were destroyed, under orders from Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall.

“It just breaks your heart to see these beautiful birds (destroyed),” said Suzanne Crider, Humane Society director, who was responsible for putting the birds down. She noted that some birds were already dead or bloodied, apparently from fights at the site.

Dulin said there was a cockfight in progress when police arrived, and that there was a score sheet posted indicating from the tally, that $2,500 had likely been bet on the fight.

Officers, operating with the search warrant, seized 13 firearms in a renters’ residence on the property, and Dulin said the 29 vehicles and any money found on people at the alleged cockfight would likely be confiscated by police, with the courts handling disposition later. Tow trucks hauled the autos and trucks away to storage lots.

Those arrested were all but one of Hispanic origin, and the arrestees were from a variety of states, including Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.

A similar cock fight was raided in May of 2006 near Grovertown, where 60 roosters were found and destroyed, and 52 misdemeanor arrests were made, while several participants were charged then and went to prison for the organization of the fights.

KNOX– The Starke County Economic Development Foundation has announced it is teaming with the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center to further strengthen the small business community in Starke and Pulaski counties.

“The partnership brings an elevated component of services to the Foundation’s Small Business Center, which has been assisting small business owners since launching in May of 2008,” said SCEDF Executive Director Charles Weaver.

“The efforts of the SBDC coupled with the Small Business Center will just enhance our ability to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and small business persons in Starke and Pulaski counties.

“Our mission is to work with the local guys who want to get started in business along with the area’s big businesses.”

NWI SBDC Regional Director LeAnn McCrum said the partnership is an opportunity for both agencies to be stronger assets to residents.

“It is our intention to do a better job serving Starke and Pulaski counties this year. In the past,   limited resources have prevented the NWI SBDC from having a strong presence in either county,” McCrum said. “Together, we will be able to provide more resources to the communities than either one could individually.”

The Foundation’s Ron Gifford will be working directly with clients as a business advisor for the SBDC. Gifford practiced law for 32 years, having worked primarily with businesses.

Gifford sees the collaboration as a way to further serve small business owners by having at hand key SBDC resources while advising clients.

“It is a nice fit because it gives us additional tools to make us even more effective,” Gifford said.

He will be based out of the Foundation’s offices in Knox, 4 North Main St.

Serving seven counties in the region, the NWI SBDC offers free assistance for entrepreneurs starting or expanding their businesses. Through one-on-one consulting, the NWI SBDC helps guide small businesses toward their goals by offering referrals, workshops, training opportunities and other essential business tools. It is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Small Business Administration, the State of Indiana and other local partners.

For more information, visit www.nwisbdc.org.

SCEDF is a not-for-profit Local Economic Development Organization providing economic development opportunities on behalf of Starke County, the City of Knox, and the Towns of North Judson, and Hamlet through the development of industrial parks, rail spurs, Greenfield sites, shovel-ready sites, infrastructure and workforce development.

For more information, visit www.scedf.biz.

KNOX – The Starke County Prosecutor’s office and the Starke County Court frequently work to creatively save valuable court time by working with offenders to develop plea agreements.

Thursday, Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall accepted a plea agreement for Knox resident Rodney Craft, who had accumulated a large number of charges, including escape from the Starke County Jail.

Craft’s plea agreement resulted in him pleading  guilty to Possession of Marijuana; Possession of Marijuana with a Prior Conviction; Possession of Methamphetamine; Failure to Appear; Escape, and Possession of Chemical Reagents or Precursors, with the Intent to Manufacture Methamphetamine.

All the charges are part of what had been several different   open cases in Starke County.

In the near future, Hall will set the sentencing hearing.

According to the plea agreement filed in Circuit Court, Craft could receive a total of 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on the charges in which he plead guilty. But it will be Hall’s determination as to how many years Craft will serve.

Craft was charged with escape in September 2010, after when he escaped from the jail’s recreation area. He apparently covered the wires at the top of the recreation area, which consists of an outside yard surrounded by high concrete wall.

He later was captured by the Knox City Police, an hour-and-a-half after he escaped, with the aid of a K-9 police dog.

The capture was made at an abandoned residence northwest of Knox

KNOX – RN Craig Felty has been named the new Director of Emergency Department amd House Supervision at Indiana University Health Starke Hospital.

Felty, RN, BSN, EMT-P, began his new duties in January.

Previously, he worked at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Felty has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in nursing.

He lives in Hebron with his wife Tricia Felty and children Joshua, Zachary, Jenna, Seth and Jeremieh Felty.

CULVER — Culver High School Jeremiah Havery is an IHSAA Wrestling State Champion, after winning the 285-pound weight class at Saturday’s state finals. The Culver Community heavyweight finished his senior season at 45-4.

His win at the state finals came in overtime against #2 ranked Damon Howe of Plymouth in a 3-1 decision .

It was the third  victory over Howe, as he also defeated the Plymouth wrestler in the Rochester Regional  and his Merrillville Semi-state championship came over Howe.

Harvey’s state championship match was watched by about 500 fans in the Culver gym, who stayed after the Culver Lady Cavalier regional championship win to watch their hometown kid win over  Howe, on live TV. Harvey’s state championship match was watched by about 500 fans, who stayed after the Culver Lady Cavalier regional championship win to watch

Howe was wrestling in his third overtime in the tournament, having defeated 6th-ranked Abraham Hall of Bremen in a 3-2 overtime win at the regional, and a double overtime victory over  #1-ranked  Bellmont senior Daniel Meyer in the semi-finals Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Starke County Economic Development Foundation (SCEDF) supported mint farmers in Starke County and surrounding counties by testifying on behalf of HB 1451 in front of the Indiana House Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. This bill would define mint farming as being an agricultural activity and would thus free mint farmers from potentially having to acquire air or discharge permits from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and being regulated by such agency.

Speaking for the Foundation, Executive Director Charles W. Weaver pointed out to the Committee that mint farming has taken place in Starke County since at least since 1902 and that Indiana, while once the American leader in mint production, is still either the 4th or 5th largest producer today in the United States, with a total value of such crop in the vicinity of $20 million annually. Weaver also reported that for the most part, there are very few mint farmers left and those that are still engaged in this activity are for the most part family farmers who are now 3rd or 4th generation farmers, and not large corporations. He suggested strongly that the State should continue to support these farmers and taking away the requirement of having to acquire burdensome permits and regulation could well result with such family farmers being able to continue for more generations into the future. Weaver testified that “the fear of IDEM and/or EPA entrance into this industry led many of this small group of farmers to seriously question whether they should plant a mint crop or not this past year and in the future. Growing the crop is not the issue, but until some solution presents itself on the permit issue, none of these mint farmers knows if they will be able to extract the oil from the crop, and it is the oil that is the most valuable commodity in the crop.”

Following the receipt of testimony by SCEDF, mint farmers, and IDEM, the House Committee deleted all of the provisions of the bill and instead inserted language that would not allow IDEM to impose any permit requirements for mint distillation operations until a study has been completed by the Environmental Quality Service Council looking at the actual and potential air emissions created by the distillation of mint and whether this process should be considered as a farming operation under current Indiana rules and regulations. The Council would also be asked to report to IDEM on the feasibility of establishing permit requirements for mint distillation operations. The Bill is now eligible to be considered on second reading in the full House.

SCEDF is a not-for-profit Local Economic Development Organization (LEDO) providing economic development opportunities on behalf of Starke County, Indiana, the City of Knox, and the Towns of North Judson, and Hamlet through the development of industrial parks, rail spurs, greenfield sites, shovelready sites, infrastructure, and workforce development. For more information regarding SCEDF, visit www.scedf.biz .

NORTH JUDSON — The North Judson-San Pierre Bluejays were shorthanded going into the game against Mishawaka Tuesday night, with senior guard Kendall Hochstedler and junior forward Dustin Knapp sidelined.

Jay coach Ryan Bales got good performances out of freshman Caston Sanchez, who started, and sophomore Even Howard off the bench, in a 67-62 win that wasn’t as close as the final score.

“Sanchez and Evan were steady and composed,” said Bales of his young players. Our big guys inside, and our upperclassmen played well. Winston (Yergler) got John Eckert (21 points and 10 rebounds) the ball inside.

Senior Andrew Frasure (13 points) sparked the Jays with a booming three early in the third quarter that got Judson rolling, andthat’s pretty much how the Bluejays were able to have a big third quarter, that got them the separation they needed and established a five-point lead the Cavemen couldn’t recover from. Eckert had a big third quarter, and Yergler’s steady influence running the offense, and 19 points for the game, helped lead his team to the win.

Bales said he hoped to have Hochstedler and Knapp back for Friday’s game.

North Judson-San Pierre 67, Mishawaka 62

MISHAWKAKA (62) T.J. Benner 6, Cody Childress 6, Justin Frazier 0, Mike Louderback 3, Chris Mitchell 21, Christian Radcliff 0, Sam Schrader 0, Joey Schuster 0, Brandon Vanderhaggen 11, Curlean Williams 0, Javonte Young 15. TOTALS: 23 8-10 62.

NORTH JUDSON (67): John Eckert 21, Mitch Fingerhut 9, Andrew Frasure 13, Evan Howard 2, Winston Yergler 19, Caston Sanchez 3. TOTALS: 23 18-27 67.
3-point goals: North Judson 3 (Sanchez, Frasure, Eckert), Mishawaka 8 (Mitchell 3, Young 3, Vanderhaggen, Benner). Total fouls (fouled out): North Judson 14, Mishawaka 21. JV score: Mishawaka 47, North Judson 36. Varsity records: North Judson 16-1; Mishawaka 8-8.