Police

Sturgis Police last week arrested a 66-year-old man on a warrant stemming from a May incident, when he allegedly put his hand up a teenager’s skirt. Department officials said Ira Lytle, 66, was arrested Thursday after an officer who knew of the warrant apprehended the Sturgis resident outside the police station. Two students at the nearby Sturgis Alternative School walking …

Former Three Rivers Mayor Ken Baker has been named the grand marshal of the 2013 Three Rivers Water Festival parade. Baker was chosen by virtue of his many years of service to the city, including his time as chief of police and later as mayor. Baker also is lauded for founding the Friends of Riverside Cemetery organization as well as …

A permit issued last week for the Three Rivers Mural Mall improvement project signals the end of construction related to the downtown attraction. The walk-through area between North Main and Railroad streets was redesigned to include picnic benches, plants, a play area and other items to create a visually appealing area. It also has a surveillance camera with a direct …

A LaGrange County man suspected of setting fire to a Sturgis restaurant in 2009 was sentenced to prison Wednesday for unrelated felonies. Nathan Lumbard, 30, was ordered to serve a six-year sentence in Indiana after he completes a sentence he is currently serving in Kentucky, where he will be incarcerated until June 2014. Lumbard, who has yet to stand trial …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department has revived its Honor Guard, county commissioner Rick Shaffer announced this week. During commissioner comments at the conclusion of Tuesday’ meeting, Shaffer said the five-person team will be called upon to serve at funerals for dignitaries, retired or current police officers, or fire department personnel. Shaffer said the quintet is comprised of active sheriff’s …

An 18-year-old Sturgis woman was cited for failure to yield the right of way following a two-vehicle accident Saturday in Sherman Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Katelyn Johnson was driving on Banker Street when she proceeded to cross Balk Road. Sixty-two-year-old Charles Hudson of Sturgis was driving north on Balk Road and had the right of way; …

Fifty-five marijuana plants and equipment used to cultivate marijuana were removed over the weekend from a residence in Colon Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said officers patrolling the area around 9 p.m. Saturday noticed the smell of marijuana and traced the odor to a residence in the 32000 block of Custer Road. During a consensual search of the …

Nearly 90 marijuana plants, an unspecified quantity of packaged marijuana and two handguns were seized from a Constantine residence last week. Three men were arrested at a residence in the 200 block of Florence Road following the culmination of an investigation executed Thursday by the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit. Two additional men, including the homeowner, were found later …

Deputies with the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday investigated a burglary in the 600 block of West Burr Oak Street in the Village of Centreville. The incident occurred between 4 a.m. and 2 p.m. No additional information was included in a department media release.

White Pigeon Village Council’s personnel committee was assigned the task of reviewing an April incident involving police chief Lynn “Dutch” Baker and Sgt. William Burgoyne. Village president Dan Czajkowski said the village council met in executive session this week and delegated the matter to the three-person committee. Czajkowski said evidence will be reviewed and interviews conducted before the committee makes …