Woman guilty of embezzlement

An employee of the Marcellus Fire Department has pled guilty to embezzlement.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said Nicole Olsen, 33, of Marcellus, pled guilty as charged to embezzlement over $1,000 on Monday.

The victim in this matter is the Marcellus Fire Department, Fitz said. The plea requires Olsen to make restitution of more than $17,000 and includes a provision of no further charges arising from this incident.

The crime carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 or three times the amount embezzled, whichever is greater.

Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 3 in front of Cass County Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge.

Man drowned in lake

Cass County authorities recovered the body of a South Bend man who drowned Monday in Kirk Lake, northeast of Vandalia.

The body of Eugene Carpenter, 69, was found Monday afternoon. Cass County authorities were called to the public access of Kirk Lake about 2 p.m. after a boat was found abandoned.

Officials said it appears Carpenter was attempting to launch the boat when it drifted away. Carpenter apparently attempted to swim to retrieve it.

Police said Carpenter was not wearing a flotation device.

Homicide in Cass County

Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr. said his department is investigating a homicide that occurred around 1:30 p.m. Friday in the 19000 block of U.S. 12 in Mason Township.

Deputies responded to a report of a person stabbed and found the victim, Martha Sexton, dead as a result of stab-related injuries.

The suspect, 59-year-old Edward Hensley, is the victim’s brother. The two had been living at the location for approximately 10 days.

Hensley was arrested by law-enforcement in Elkhart and he has been charged with open murder.

Underwood said Hensley will be awaiting extradition to Cass County on the charges.

Labrador saves boy

A black Labrador is credited with saving a 14-month-old boy from drowning Sunday in Marcellus.

According to the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, the young man slipped away from his mother as the two were headed to their garage and he wound up in the family pool. As soon as the mother realized her son was no longer with her, she went to the pool and saw the family dog had pulled the boy from the water.

A police report states the boy was blue in the face and unconscious.

As the woman drove the boy to the Marcellus Fire Department, he regained consciousness. Deputies said the boy was checked over and found to be in good condition.

He was then treated at Three Rivers Health and released.

Csokasy taking leave of absence

Louis Csokasy, manager of road commissions in St. Joseph and Cass counties, said he is taking a leave of absence from both jobs starting next month in order to serve as interim administrator of Cass County.

Csokasy, 64, said he was asked by Cass County officials late last week to fill the post left vacant after Charles Cleaver resigned earlier this year. Csokasy said he was offered but declined the job on a full-time basis.

He is expected to start the job July 9.

Meanwhile, Christopher Bolt, director of engineering for the St. Joseph County Road Commission, is to be nominated by Csokasy to serve as his replacement during the interim period.

Csokasy has been road commission manager in Cass County since 2008 and St. Joseph County since October 2010.

Man died in accident

Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said a 48-year-old Three Rivers man died over the weekend in a one-vehicle accident in Marcellus Township.

The incident occurred about 7 a.m. Saturday on Burlington Road, south of Marcellus Highway.

Underwood said a Chevy Impala driven by John Eastes left the roadway, struck a tree and came to rest in a swampy area.

Easts was transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital via AirCare and was listed in critical condition.

A passenger in the vehicle, Robert Haney, 47, from New Mexico, was killed in the crash. It is unknown if alcohol was a factor in the incident.

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