Jail

ELKHART COUNTY -- Elkhart County police are on the lookout for two men who reportedly escaped from their work release program early Wednesday morning. Dispatchers tell us the two men, identified as Dontea Bush and George Sanks, were reported missing just before 4 a.m. There are few details at this time, but we are told they were last seen walking towards Lincoln Avenue in Goshen and that they may have been wearing jail-issued clothing. A work release program is for prisoners, who are generally on good behavior and are not violent, to work outside the walls of the jail.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - Documents say a Kalamazoo County Jail deputy was fired following the suicide of an inmate this year. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports ( http://bit.ly/TjcdcT ) Monday the sheriff's department decided that the March 5 death of Derrick Burroughs may have been preventable if proper policy was followed. The newspaper obtained details of the investigation following a request under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The deputy was fired in April, following an internal investigation.

New details emerged Wednesday in the case of a Warsaw middle school teacher charged with a felony for his alleged sexual relationship with a student.  Police say that relationship with a 14-year-old girl started at the end of last school year and continued throughout the summer.  Warsaw Schools Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz said 26-year-old Tyler Baatz taught the girl 8 th grade English at Edgewood Middle School, which is how they...

A former local leader is in jail after admitting to misconduct while in office. Jeff Dean reported to the county jail just after 8 Monday morning. The former Penn Township trustee pleaded guilty in May to paying his girlfriend for work she didn't do during his time as trustee. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 15 months probation. Dean resigned from office last month. Last month a caucus elected former state government consultant Janet Whitfield-Hyduk to replace him.

SOUTH BEND - An inmate being held at the St. Joseph County Jail has been injured, and a jail officer is off the job after a scary situation late Thursday night. The Sheriff's Department says Brian Newman was a federal inmate on suicide watch at the jail when he fell from the second floor of the jail “slice” where he was assigned. Each “slice” has individual cells where inmates live while jailed. Police say around 11:00 p.m., Newman was out of his cell in handcuffs with a jail officer for recreational time.

ELKHART - The man who is the drummer for the heavy metal band Anthrax has been released from the Elkhart County Jail. Charles Benante and his wife were arrested Friday for domestic battery in front of a child. Arrest records indicate the pair was picked up at the Hilton Garden Inn in Elkhart, and both were released from jail on Saturday. Over the past 30 years, Anthrax has achieved sales in excess of $10 million and received multiple gold and platinum albums and Grammy nominations.

A man is dead and his friend is facing a preliminary charge of reckless homicide after a fight erupted between the two Thursday evening at the friend's home. Freddie Smith, 29, died at the scene. His friend, Steve Nobles, 24, was arrested for shooting him to death. Nobles' girlfiend, Diana Pereira, was also shot during the fracas. She was taken to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to her lower leg. She's expected to survive, Lt. Dave Wells told WSBT. Wells is St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit's assistant commander.

The suspect in Thursday night's armed robbery ... turn police chase ... turn getaway car left burning in cemetery ... is being held without bond in St. Joseph County Jail. Preliminary charges against Larry Harris from Thursday night's incidents include armed robbery, resisting police and resisting police with a vehicle. Harris also has a warrant from a previous case of residential entry, a $1,000 body attachment warrant and a U.S. Marshals Service federal hold.

WARSAW - Two Warsaw men are behind bars after they allegedly sold drugs to undercover cops. On Friday, the Kosciusko County Drug Task Force arrested 25-year-old Nathaniel Hollett and 45-year-old Jose Fuentes. Hollett is charged with a felony dealing marijuana, while Fuentes was booked on preliminary charges of dealing a controlled substance (prescription medicine). Both men are accused of selling drugs to undercover police last month in Kosciusko County. Bonds for both Hollett and Fuentes were set at $20,000 by the Kosciusko County prosecutor's office.

A Starke County Jail inmate escaped Wednesday afternoon and as of Thursday morning, has not been located.  Joshua Hunnicutt escaped about 4 p.m. Wednesday, possibly by means of his girlfriend Rachel Berdine who was waiting for him near the jail. Hunnicutt was arrested for an active warrant for possession of methamphetamine and maintaining a common nuisance. Descriptions Joshua Hunnicutt: White mail, 30 years old, 6-feet tall, 170 lbs, brown short/shaved hair, short beard.