Bristol

BRISTOL - A trial is under way in a 4-year-old Elkhart County murder case that inspired a proposed law aimed at making tenants safer. Jury selection started Monday morning in the Tyrice Halliburton case. Police say he stabbed 23-year-old Sheena Kiska -- a mother of two -- to death in her Bristol apartment in March of 2008 during a burglary. Halliburton was arrested nearly 3 years later. He could face life in prison without parole if convicted. 11 jurors have been seated in the case.

ELKHART COUNTY -- Police originally thought a flash fire that burned a Bristol man Wednesday was an accident caused when gas fumes hit a lit cigarette. Now they say the man poured the gasoline on himself on purpose. This happened near Old U.S. 20 and County Road 13. Police said the man was unloading yard debris by his truck. They believed he was smoking and fumes from a can of gas inside the truck ignited. Now they say he apparently poured the gasoline on himself in an attempt to commit suicide.

ELKHART COUNTY -- A Bristol man sustained severe burns following a fire on Elkhart's far-east side Wednesday morning. According to our reporter at the scene, police say a man was doing landscaping just before 9 a.m. in the area of Old U.S. 20 and County Road 13 when it happened. Investigators believe the flame from his cigarette mixed with the vapors from a nearby gas can ignited the flash fire that severely burned parts of his upper body. Emergency responders tell us the man is believed to be in his 60's.

BRISTOL - The former Toll Road Indiana State Police district commander in Bristol accused of stealing close to $100,000 from the state has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Police say Dallard Tackett used his position to transfer more than $90,000 in state funds into a personal account. He pleaded guilty in November. On Monday morning a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison with 10 suspended. With time served and good behavior, he could be out in less than 5 years.

A Bristol man was cited by Elkhart County police for "improper braking" after he struck an 8-year-old girl who had just stepped off a school bus Monday afternoon in the 21000 block of S.R. 19. Timothy Risner, 35, told police he saw the school bus stopping in front of him and he tried, but could not stop his car. Risner said he swerved to the right of the bus when his brakes failed to stop his westbound car...

Police say a Bristol woman was arrested for public intoxication yesterday after a vehicle registered in her name was involved in a crash with an Elkhart County Sheriff's Department cruiser. Patrolman Todd Horner was struck by a 1993 Oldsmobile Sunday before 8 p.m. at the corner of County Road 8 and County Road 27, say police. Horner's cruiser was disabled and the Oldsmobile drove off into Bristol Mobile Village at 52427 County Road 27. The owner of the vehicle, 43-year-old Sonya Lee Fletcher was found walking in the street near her home at the intersection of St. Joseph and Charles streets - which is near Bristol Mobile Village.

ELKHART COUNTY - A 12-year-old Elkhart County student started his own non-profit company to raise money for a playground project. At Bristol Elementary, some sixth graders are making, selling, and marketing chocolate covered cup cake pops. They even created a spread sheet, business model, and business cards. The money generated will go to buy playground equipment for a local mobile home park. Saleh Al-Azawi, 12, is the president of the non-profit group who came up with the idea and also lives near the park.

A man accused of killing his neighbor back in 2008 now faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. A spokesman for the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office says that was requested this morning against 30-year-old Tyrice Halliburton. Prosecutors also accused him of being a habitual offender due to his past history of unrelated charges of theft, burglary and drug possession. Sheena Kiska was found dead in her Bristol apartment in March of 2008.

BRISTOL - Two people were injured in a car accident in Bristol Tuesday afternoon. Dispatch says that MedFlight was called to the accident after the car hit a mailbox. Police responded to the scene in the 20700 block of County Road 6 around 12:29 p.m. This location is between County Road 19 and County Road 21. Police say Gregory Littlefield, 21, was heading east on County Road 6 when he lost control of his car and sliding into a trash can, mailbox, and a tree. He was driving a 1998 Buick Achieva.

People who live in the Timberbrook mobile home park in Bristol say feral cats are proving to be a nuisance in more ways than one. See the attached video for the report from WSBT's Ed Ernstes.