Police

State police troopers are investigating a breaking-and-entering incident that occurred between 6 and 9 p.m. Sept. 7 in the 20000 block of Mahnke Road in Lockport Township. Authorities said suspects broke into a detached garage and stole several items, including a shotgun and pellet gun.

Michigan State Police staff members are being deployed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional response-coordination center in Philadelphia to provide support as a liaison between state and federal agencies related to the impending arrival of Hurricane Florence. The deployment is occurring as a result of a request made for out-of-state support through the National Emergency Management Agency. The MSP …

Officials have released the names of two people who died after a boating accident in southwestern Michigan. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office says the boat was crossing from Tub Lake to Barton Lake when it struck the top of a cement barrier under Portage Road Saturday evening in Schoolcraft Township. The department says in a statement Monday that 56-year-old Anthony …

A fuel tanker caught fire on the U.S. 31/20 bypass in South Bend, sending flames high into the predawn sky and damaging the roadway’s pavement. Police say residents were evacuated from some nearby homes after the fire started about 4:30 a.m. Monday on the city’s far west side near South Bend International Airport. They were able to return a few …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has authorized seven charges against Fernando Mendoza Cruz. The 37-year-old Sturgis man was charged Friday with three counts of kidnapping, and one count for each offense of fleeing and eluding, carrying a concealed weapon, felony firearm and domestic violence. He remains in the St. Joseph County Jail with a $250,000 cash/ surety bond. An …

Troopers from Michigan State Police are investigating a felonious assault by a 42-year-old man who used a hunting knife as a weapon. Investigators were called at 11 p.m. Thursday to the 400 block of River Road in Branch County’s Batavia Township. The suspect threatened to kill his mother. He also kept her from leaving the residence for several hours. The …

Authorities from several Michigan and Indiana police agencies helped in an effort to track a suspect responsible for the issuance of an Amber Alert early Thursday. According to Sturgis Police Chief Geoff Smith, the child-abduction alert was issued after 37-year-old Fernando Mendoza Cruz was allegedly responsible for an assault at his residence, in the 100 block of Pioneer Street. Officers …

Michigan residents should prepare for emergencies and disasters by making an emergency plan with their loved ones and learning life-saving skills as part of Michigan’s “Preparedness Month,” according to the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division. Throughout September, the MSP/EMHSD is joining federal, state and local governments, as well as private and public organizations, in supporting emergency-preparedness …

Troopers from the Michigan State Police Marshall Post are investigating a two vehicle crash involving a mini-van and a motorcycle which happened Wednesay at 12:35pm. The 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle, driven by a 37 year old male from Fishers, IN, was eastbound on US-12 in Sturgis, when a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country mini-van driven by 38 year old female, …

Last Fall Deb Rohdy, owner of the Bow Wow Bakery and Bath in Dowagiac, started a community project to “Keep Nellie Cool”  This project was to purchase a heat sensor for the patrol car used by Nellie and her handler Deputy TK Graves. Nellie is a Bloodhound used by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office for trailing of lost, missing, and endangered …