Government

A potential misdemeanor charge against St. Joseph County Commissioner Don Eaton will be decided by Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz. The neighboring county was chosen Friday by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office to review the case. Eaton is an elected official and, following protocol, the matter must be delegated outside the county he represents. The case against Eaton stems from …

Three area men face drug-related charges after a home in the 64000 block of Burr Oak Road was raided by police Wednesday in Burr Oak Township. Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit located methamphetamine and evidence of the manufacturing of meth, according to a sheriff’s department media release. Police are pursuing charges of possession of meth, possession …

Charges of violating a permit related to a concealed pistol license could be imposed on a member of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Second District Commissioner Don Eaton could be charged with a misdemeanor related to an incident that originated July 29 at the Sturgis Applebee’s restaurant. Eaton, 53, said he retrieved from his vehicle a pistol as …

A Sturgis woman has died as the result of a motorcycle accident Wednesday night in Constantine Township. Carrie Gay, 30, died Thursday at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, where she was airlifted following the accident at Dickinson and Burke roads. She was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by 32-year-old Charles Barfell, of Sturgis. He remains in serious condition at …

Authorities say the body of a 58-year-old man has been found in a southwestern Michigan lake after a boat was reported empty on the water. The Cass County sheriff’s department says it was called Wednesday night to Indian Lake in Silver Creek Township. Witnesses told them a person was fishing from the boat and they later noticed the boat still …

County sheriff’s deputies investigated a 2-car crash Wednesday evening at the intersection of US-131 and M-60 on the southwest side of Three Rivers. Randal Anderson, 47, of South Bend, was eastbound on M-60, when he reportedly pulled away from the stop sign, and collided with a southbound vehicle. That car was driven by 41-year-old Brett Schiefelbein of Hinsdale, Illinois. Both …

A 55-gallon drum and a bail of fencing were among the items recovered from last weekend’s St. Joseph County Conservation District river cleanup. The fifth of seven cleanup events this season took place Saturday in a 2.7-mile stretch of the Rocky River, from Bent Road to Flatbush Road in Flowerfield Township. A group of seven volunteers also snagged three tires …

Two of three people involved in a breaking-and-entering incident in downtown Sturgis were arrested early Sunday after they attempted to flee from officers. According to the Sturgis Police Department, a 22-year-old Sturgis man and a 15-year-old male were arrested after officers were called at 2 a.m. Sunday to the 100 block of West Chicago Road in response to a sound …

Weapons and jewelry were stolen from a Fabius Township residence last week. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, someone broke into a residence in the 12300 block of Hillside Drive between Tuesday and Thursday. Access was gained through a garage door. Four firearms and three diamond rings were stolen during the break-in deputies said.

A Three Rivers man will serve more than four months in jail after he was sentenced for embezzling funds from the Three Rivers Little League. Clint Roberts, who was found to have taken more than $14,000 from the league’s account while managing its finances, was sentenced earlier this month by Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman to serve 4 1/2 months …