Branch County looks for public defender
Branch County has signed a contract with Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. "The first 50 percent payment can be expected 15 days from the date the contracts are received by the State," said Branch...
View ArticleSon claimed he was protecting father
Michael Vaughn, 17, said he was protecting his father when he pulled a gun on two men Sunday at their North Angola Road apartment house. Vaughn was arrested and is charged with assault with a weapon, a...
View ArticleMiller charged in Facebook feud
James Riley Miller, 24, of Coldwater, faces two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a car) after a Facebook feud reportedly went too far. Daniel Nutt and Cassie Bidwell told police they were...
View ArticleThorne sent back to prison for drugs
Monday, Kimberly Thorne, 23, received the maximum sentence, 16 months to two years in prison, after she pleaded guilty to possession of an analogue drug she put inside her body when she was arrested...
View ArticleVanWormer pleads to ethnic intimidation
James VanWormer II, 30, pleaded no contest to assault with a dangerous weapon, a sawed-off shotgun, and ethnic intimidation after he threatened an African-American neighbor Jan. 28 in Union...
View ArticleSex offender admits to removing tether
HILLSDALE — A convicted sex offender admitted to forcibly removing an electronic monitoring device and willfully disobeying state mandates for quarterly registration under the sex offender’s...
View ArticleFlorida man fined $30,000 for tall grass. Now the city is foreclosing on his...
Letting your grass grow too high might cost you — or at least it did for one Florida man.The city of Dunedin’s Code Enforcement Board moved to foreclose the home of Jim Ficken, 69, Tuesday after he...
View ArticleGreat-grandma arrested at Disney for CBD oil to sue Disney
The 69-year-old great-grandmother who was arrested for carrying CBD oil while visiting Disney World last month has planned to sue both Disney and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orlando TV station...
View ArticleJail bonds priority over new deputy
Branch County Commissioners again Thursday reiterated support for more county road patrol deputies, but not just yet.
View ArticlePittsford man charged with domestic assault, weapons charge
HILLSDALE — A Pittsford man is facing considerable prison time after his weekend arrest stemming from a domestic violence incident.Scott Alan Schutte, 55, was arrested Aug. 2 by the Hillsdale County...
View ArticleJury split in trial of Hillsdale man accused of sexually touching a minor
HILLSDALE — A jury was unable to unanimously determine a verdict Tuesday in the trial of a Hillsdale man accused of sexually touching a minor in 2018.Chad Ray Bennett, 34, was arrested earlier this...
View ArticleWheatland Township man netted in narcotics bust considering plea deal
HILLSDALE – A Wheatland Township man arrested in connection with a narcotics investigation conducted by the Michigan State Police Region of Irish Hills Narcotics Office this summer waived his right to...
View ArticleJerome man arrested after pointing gun at his adult friends and his co-workers
SOMERSET TWP — Troopers from the Michigan State Police Jonesville Detachment arrested a Jerome man early Friday morning who allegedly pointed a shotgun at his adult son and his co-workers.Authorities...
View Article57-180 months prison sentence for man who struck, killed Jonesville teen...
HILLSDALE — A Jonesville man who pleaded no contest to charges of operating while intoxicated causing death in July has been sentenced to 57-180 months in prison.Seth Michael Magda, 21, appeared in the...
View ArticleDetours start Monday
BRANCH COUNTY — It’s detour time in Branch County, starting Monday, on a number of roads due to construction in the coming weeks.M-86 — Colon Road, will be closed for culvert replacement except for...
View ArticleWeigle discusses state law update at recent Exchange Club meeting
COLDWATER — Branch County District Court Judge Brent Weigle gave an update on recent changes to Michigan statutory law, meeting Constitutional requirements of fairness for indigent defendants, to...
View ArticleQuincy man charged in child porn case
Peter Casey, 27, of Quincy, is being held without bond on felony charges as part of a child pornography investigation by Michigan State Police.That follows the arrest May 20 of Casey’s girlfriend...
View ArticleFormer secretary charged with obstruction of justice
HILLSDALE — Former senior secretary in the Branch County Prosecutor’s office, Lorene Blair, 63, was arraigned on charges of obstruction of justice before Hillsdale County District Judge Sara Lisznyai...
View ArticleCriminal sexual conduct case set for trial
COLDWATER — District Judge Brent Weigle dismissed one charge and Prosecutor Valerie White reduced another, but the case against Jody Stout was bound over for trial on two criminal sexual conduct...
View ArticleMan sentenced for tampering with tether
COLDWATER — Justin Delles, 30, was sent back to prison for 14 months to four years for tampering with his tether as a habitual offender. That sentence will come after he completes an August 2016...
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