Armed robbery suspect still at large

Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said the suspect behind an armed robbery Tuesday in the unincorporated community of Union remains at large.

The incident occurred at 5:10 p.m. and took place at Hilltop Laundry, located in the 13500 block of U.S. 12.

Witnesses identified the suspect as a white male in his late 30s. He reportedly stands about 5′7″ and has brown hair and blue eyes.

Underwood said the suspect fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash and an unknown number of cartons of cigarettes. He was last seen heading east on U.S. 12 in a dark-colored SUV.

Two arrested for breaking-and-entering

Two Indiana residents, suspected of having a role in at least 10 breaking-and-entering incidents in Cass County, were taken into custody last week.

The suspects were apprehended Thursday by St. Joseph County, Ind., deputies during an incident at a residence in North Liberty, Ind.

Sheriff’s officials in Cass County said the two demonstrated a pattern of breaking into residence during the daytime, when homeowners were not present. They typically took small items, including jewelry and cash, over the course of their 10-day spree.

One of the subjects arrested is a juvenile. The other is waiting to be extradited and arraigned in Michigan.

Man in custody

A 45-year-old man from Cass County was charged with a number of offenses after he was found in the company of a 15-year-old girl he allegedly courted through the Internet.

Cass County Sheriff’s Department investigators said Dean Young, who had recently moved from Arizona to a residence he shared with a friend in the unincorporated community of Union, was charged with criminal sexual conduct, possession of child pornography and using a computer for solicitation of a minor for immoral purposes.

Young was arrested Thursday night at a residence in the 71000 block of Spencer Drive. The juvenile, who ran away from her home in Monroe, N.Y., was taken into custody by sheriff’s officials. Her parents drove overnight from New York to pick her up, police said.

Young is in the Cass County Jail with bond set at $75,000.

Fire act of arson

Five St. Joseph County-based departments played a critical role in helping extinguish a large-scale fire Friday morning in Vicksburg.

A 4 a.m. blaze at a former paper mill required the services of 10 fire agencies to douse an intentionally-set blaze at the 435,000-square-foot building. The facility, which has been dormant and used only for storage, served for years as the Simpson-Lee Paper Co.

Area departments involved in combating the blaze were from Leonidas, Mendon, Three Rivers, Fabius-Park and White Pigeon.

Investigators have determined the fire was an act of arson.

Olsen ordered to pay restitution

A 34-year-old Marcellus woman was sentenced to three years of probation for embezzling $17,000 from the Marcellus Fire Department.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge also ordered Nicole Olsen to pay restitution in the amount she stole over the course of four months starting in September 2011.

Olsen was a four-year employee with the department, serving as captain and treasurer.

Cass County officials said Olsen has a new job and expects to pay restitution within the three-year period of her probation.

Power is restored

Midwest Energy Cooperative officials announced power has been fully restored to almost all of its 4,000 customers whose service was disrupted as the result of an early morning storm Tuesday.

Company officials said transmission was lost to two substations, leaving most of the impacted customers in Cass and Van Buren counties without power.

A small cluster of customers in the Three Rivers area also were impacted.

Workers had restored power to all affected customers by late Tuesday afternoon.

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