Criminal sexual conduct case set for trial
COLDWATER — District Judge Brent Weigle dismissed one charge and Prosecutor Valerie White reduced another, but the case against Jody Stout was bound over for trial on two criminal sexual conduct...
View ArticleNote leads to arrest
COLDWATER — A former prison inmate with a long history of thefts got himself into trouble Jan 20 for taking a can of gas.Matthew Tilot, 40, left a note with his telephone number at a Fremont Road area...
View ArticleMan sentenced for tampering with tether
COLDWATER — Justin Delles, 30, was sent back to prison for 14 months to four years for tampering with his tether as a habitual offender. That sentence will come after he completes an August 2016...
View ArticleVent fire causes minor damage
GIRARD TOWNSHIP — Fire in a faulty bathroom vent fan caused moderate damage early today to a wood-framed ranch house near Craig Lake in Girard Township.Coldwater Fire Department responded to 235...
View ArticleProbation mandated for theft from Girl Scouts
COLDWATER — Former Girl Scouts troop leader, Kathy Jo Contreras, 47, will make restitution on $1,145 from accounts belonging to the Girl Scouts of America. Contreras pleaded guilty to two counts...
View ArticleSherwood fire under investigation
SHERWOOD TOWNSHIP — Michigan State Police brought in a specialized K-9 unit Tuesday to see if accelerants were used in a Monday fire at a house at 978 Stanton Road. Sherwood Fire was dispatched just...
View ArticleHome theft results in probation
COLDWATER — Brittany Thomas, 21, of White Pigeon, was told to meet her probation officer Friday in the Branch County courthouse parking lot. There, she was to begin two years of supervision after...
View ArticleFire scorches field during burn-ban
GILEAD TOWNSHIP — A leaf-burn caused a major field fire Monday at 342 W. Adams Road, a quarter-mile north of the Indiana line. The land owner, Wynn Weinberg, said he did not know Michigan Department of...
View ArticlePolice: Parolee found in possession of meth
COLDWATER — Local charges of meth possession were filed against William Summa, 28, a Branch County parolee, after a stop by Michigan State Police March 29. Michigan State Police stopped a black Lincoln...
View ArticlePolice activity on the rise
COLDWATER — As more people return to work and get back onto the roads, police activity is on the rise in Branch County. During the restrictions in the last two weeks of March and in April, the Branch...
View ArticleMan faces federal charges in Indiana
COLDWATER — Markus Degraw, 39, of Fremont, Ind., was sentenced in 2019 to a year in the Branch County jail for threatening his wife and best friend. He won’t serve any of that time.But as a result of...
View ArticleWoman sentenced in horse-cruelty case
COLDWATER — Amber J. Fitzpatrick, 38, was sentenced Monday to two years’ probation, with 33 days in jail, for animal cruelty.District Judge Brent Weigle ordered the sentence.Four of those days must be...
View ArticleTech issues hinder court proceedings
COLDWATER — Only one of five pleas scheduled for Monday morning in Branch County Circuit Court took place, as technology failed to allow defendants to connect with the courtroom via Zoom. Some had...
View ArticleThree fires under investigation
BRANCH COUNTY — Three fires over the weekend destroyed two poles barns and an abandoned house in southern Branch County.The first occurred around noon Saturday at 134 Adams Road in Kinderhook Township...
View ArticleMan charged in interstate chase
COLDWATER — John Snook, 31, is back in Branch County Circuit Court, accused of fleeing from police in a multi-county, two-state pursuit March 18.Snook, who lists both Angola, Ind., and Marshall as home...
View ArticleMan arrested in fatal stabbing
COLDWATER — Police have a man in custody after a stabbing death early today at Quality Inn in Coldwater.A call was received around 3 a.m. from the hotel at the east end of Orleans Avenue, north of U.S....
View ArticleThird man arrested in 2018 robbery attempt
Ball arrested in 2018 robbery attempt other two in prisonBy Don Reid@DReidTDRCOLDWATER — The third and final person wanted in a March 2018 armed robbery is now in custody.Terry Ball, 22, was brought...
View ArticleMotors stolen from two boats; suspects sought
MSP looking for help for missing boat motorsMARSHALL — Michigan State Police are looking for possibly the same suspects who took motors from two boats in southwest Branch County.At 3:30 p.m. Thursday,...
View ArticlePolice pursue stolen vehicle into Branch County late Tuesday night
HILLSDALE — Hillsdale City Police Officers pursued a stolen vehicle late Tuesday night at high rates of speed into Branch County.Hillsdale City Police Chief Scott Hephner said Wednesday morning that...
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