Wrong-way drunk driver goes to prison
COLDWATER — A life of alcoholism and a wrong-way trip down I-69 resulting in an accident sent William Kerr, 60, to prison for 38 months to five years for fleeing Michigan State Police (MSP) Dec. 28,...
View ArticleNew assistant prosecutor hired
COLDWATER — Branch County Commissioners approved replacing the resigned assistant prosecutor at their Tuesday work session, under their rules, which require approval of all employment changes.The board...
View ArticleHeffner trial delayed for mediation
COLDWATER — Before William Heffner’s age discrimination case against the village of Quincy goes to trial, Branch County Circuit Court Judge Bill O’Grady sent both parties to a mediator in Jackson to...
View ArticlePrison for repeat offender Rutledge
COLDWATER — Three times since 2008, Ronald Rutledge has appeared in Branch County Circuit Court, charged with meth lab-related cases.Defense attorney Ben Jewel admitted probation for the 50-year-old...
View ArticleWhite gets prison as judge sends message
COLDWATER — “A good dad doesn’t rape a sixth grader under a bridge,” Branch County Circuit Court Judge Bill O’Grady told Jacob White when he sentenced him to 23 months to five years prison.White, 22,...
View ArticleModert sentenced after police stand off in January
COLDWATER — Neil Modert “was lucky the trooper knew him or he wouldn’t be alive,” Branch County Prosecutor Ralph Kimble said, as Modert was being sentenced for assault with a dangerous weapon.Branch...
View ArticleJury convicts girlfriend for jealous actions
COLDWATER — A jury took 20 minutes to convict Andrea Mekas, 41, of assault with a dangerous weapon — her Geo Metro — after she rammed head-on into Amy Walker’s car Sept. 27, 2014. Mekas will be...
View ArticleJury awards $225,000 in suit against hospital
COLDWATER — A Branch County Circuit Court jury awarded James Dostal, 76, $125,000 for pain and suffering and his wife $75,000 for loss of companionship from the Community Health Center of Branch County...
View ArticleNew charges added against Shaw
COLDWATER — Branch County Prosecutor Ralph Kimble has added two additional life felony charges against Steven Shaw, 42, charged in the death of 7-month-old Carson Burm, in an incident that took place...
View ArticleIndiana man surprised, sent to Michigan prison
COLDWATER — Robert Paul Gilbert asked for time for surgery before he served any jail when he appeared before Branch County Circuit Court Judge Bill O’Grady, after pleading guilty to attempted organized...
View ArticleGreen charged with sex abuse of teen from 2006-2009
COLDWATER — The second of three people wanted for the sexual abuse of a teenaged girl in 2006-09, David Green, 44, was arrested Tuesday after he turned himself in on a Michigan State Police...
View ArticleMusselman charged after weapons found
COLDWATER — Trey Musselman, 21, of Coldwater will face three weapons charges after he was arrested following a Bronson complaint.On Saturday — the day after Christmas — the Bronson Police Department...
View ArticleIndiana residents face meth charges
COLDWATER — Two Indiana residents with a history of meth arrests are now facing charges in Branch County, after a stop over the Christmas holiday.Coldwater Police stopped a car driven by Joshua...
View ArticleDeportation sought in domestic case
COLDWATER — Immigration will be notified when Jorge Castillo, 37, is released from his six-month sentence for attempted third-degree domestic violence.Branch County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Smith...
View ArticleBranch County man facing prison for meth
HILLSDALE — Timothy Allen Laplante, 51, of Sherwood, appeared in Hillsdale County District Court Thursday afternoon via video teleconference for arraignment.He was arrested Sept. 14 by the Hillsdale...
View ArticleLaplante waives preliminary hearings
HILLSDALE — Timothy Allen Laplante, 51, of Sherwood, appeared in Hillsdale County District Court Wednesday morning for a probable cause conference.He was arrested Sept. 14 by the Hillsdale City Police...
View ArticleSebring jailed for analogues
HILLSDALE — Joseph Ryan Sebring, 37, of Coldwater, appeared in Hillsdale County Circuit Court Monday morning for sentencing.He was arrested May 12 by the Michigan State Police on a felony warrant...
View ArticleParish priest removed for financial irregularities
KALAMAZOO — Rev. Richard Fritz, “Father Fritz,” 69, who headed up the parishes of both St. Mary's Assumption in Bronson and St. Barbara in Colon, has resigned amid an investigation into...
View ArticleHarter facing jail for false pretenses
HILLSDALE — An Athens, Michigan man is facing up to one year in the Hillsdale County Jail for scamming a Hillsdale County woman out of almost $200.The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office lodged...
View ArticleLaPlante guilty of meth possession
HILLSDALE — A Sherwood, Michigan man is facing up to 10 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine after he pleaded guilty to the crime Monday afternoon.The Hillsdale City Police Department...
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