Lakeville

LAKEVILLE — The ousted Lakeville town clerk-treasurer could be facing some further legal issues. An audit has found missing money and unauthorized purchases. Casey Grove, 30, was originally arrested in October after an attack on his girlfriend. He was then charged with drug crimes, and the town removed him from office. A state audit claims, among other things, Grove opened a credit for the town but with his name on it. The report alleges he used that card to take trips to Cedar Point amusement park, buy tires, get cash advances and several meals at area restaurants to the tune of $8,500 between 2008 and 2009.

A person has been injured in a two-vehicle accident in Lakeville. St. Joseph County emergency services dispatchers say crews were dispatched at 10:24 a.m. Sunday to an accident at Michigan and Washington streets. An ambulance was sent to the scene. No other information was available. Check the SBT24/7News page as well as www.wsbt.com, WSBT-TV, South Bend Tribune, southbendtribune.com, wsbtradio.com and WSBT Radio News for your local news.

A house caved in on itself in Lakeville Tuesday. It was first reported as an explosion. It happened around 1 p.m. in the 200 block of Mott Street, behind the Hilltop Restaurant. The woman inside was watching television when she heard a crackling from the basement and then a loud boom. She noticed damage in the front of her house and then help arrived. "He broke in the doors,” said homeowner Vera Gouker. “One comes into the kitchen. He says ‘Come on, you’ve got to get out of her now.’ And I said ‘I have to get my things.’ ‘No, no. Now!

A 1-year-old boy is being treated at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis after being struck by a truck in an apparent accident at his home just east of Lakeville. According to St. Joseph County police, the father, Marlin, was unhitching a utility trailer from his pickup truck about 10:30 this morning on their property in the 66000 block of Juniper Road. The child was standing with him while he unhitched the trailer, then the father sent the boy to the house while he moved the pickup.

The 'boil water order' has been lifted for all Town of Lakeville water customers, as of Monday morning. A major main break around 9 p.m. Thursday along S.R. 4 caused a pressure drop in the town's water system, said Marty Martin, Lakeville utility superintendent. State law requires a “boil order” for drinking water until repeated tests show no contaminants entered the water system after the pressure drop. Those test results have been received, allowing the boil order to be lifted, Martin told WSBT Monday morning.

Following a state audit, Indiana State Police will now begin investigating the alleged theft of close to $30,000 by former Lakeville clerk-treasurer Casey Grove. According to a news release sent Tuesday from the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office, ISP will conduct the criminal investigation to determine whether enough evidence exists to prove criminal charges against 30-year-old Grove. The prosecutor’s office will then make a charging decision, the release said. The State Board of Accounts report released Monday revealed that between 2008 and 2009 Grove spent thousands of the town’s money on amusement park trips, cash advances and going to restaurants, including $14,000 in unauthorized ATM and debit card withdrawals.

It will be at least mid-April before a former Lakeville town clerk-treasurer knows whether he’ll be charged criminally in connection with nearly $30,000 in town funds he allegedly misappropriated for personal use. St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak today said Indiana law requires him to take the allegations of misappropriating public money before a grand jury rather than directly charge Casey Grove with theft or official misconduct....

A medical helicopter was called to the 68000 block of Kenilworth Road near Lakeville this afternoon for a man trapped underneath a tree. Click here for a map. This happened around 1 p.m. According to a firefighter who spoke with a WSBT reporter at the scene, a man in his late 20s was cutting down a tree in the woods near his property. It landed on his back, pinning him. Rescuers had to yell his name in order to find him in the heavily wooded area.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Casey Grove, the former clerk-treasurer of Lakeville, demanding repayment of nearly $30,000 in public money Grove allegedly misspent on amusement-park tickets, movie rentals, satellite television and other personal expenses. "This elected official was entrusted with public funds and, according to an audit, used them instead to fuel his own personal shopping spree at taxpayer expense," Zoeller said in a written release.

SOUTH BEND - A 16-year-old boy is facing felony rape and child molesting charges for allegedly having nonconsensual sex with a 13-year-old girl, according to court documents filed earlier this month in St. Joseph Superior Court. The alleged incident occurred in the early morning Nov. 27 at a home in Lakeville, according to court documents. Kody Oliver is accused of forcing the 13-year-old to have sex with him, according to court documents. The victim told police she was at a home with Oliver and others on the night of Nov. 26, according to court documents.

LAKEVILLE-- The Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department is out of money.   Union Township and the Town of Lakeville benefit from the fire service but unless taxes go up, the department may have to shut down. The fire chief and the Union Township Trustee say there is not enough coming in from property taxes to cover the department's annual expenses.      Now legislators are considering a bill that could bail out the Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department in the form of higher taxes.

What would you do if you were driving down a rural road and you saw a deer playing with a family in their front yard?  “They'll see her in the front yard and do a double take,” said Sara Kaszas, of rural Lakeville.  “People have stopped back by and said, 'We thought it was a dog.  We had a bet whether it was a deer or a dog!'” She might act like a domesticated pet but Daisy the deer is still technically a wild animal…who happens to love fruits, veggies and spearmint.

LAKEVILLE -- It's a fresh start for David Stremme. The NASCAR driver and South Bend native was in Lakeville this weekend to celebrate Plymouth Speedway's switch to a dirt track. He's also got his own switch to celebrate. The 2003 Nationwide Series rookie of the year says this is the most excited he's been for an upcoming NASCAR season in years. "What I've done the last couple years has not been something that I've wanted to do," Stremme said. "You know, sometimes they say you've got to take a couple steps back to get moving back forward.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY - A 17-year-old boy was just sentenced for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl. Kody Oliver wasn't sentenced to any jail time but was sentenced to 6 years probation. He must also register as a sex offender. Oliver pleaded guilty in August to child molesting. Police say Oliver forced the girl to have sex with him at a home in Lakeville over the Thanksgiving weekend last year.  

LAKEVILLE - You could say amateur racing is where he found his calling. “Every racer has a complaint, why they lost a race,” explained longtime Hoosier Tire employee Irish Saunders. “And Bob's complaint was because of tires. So, Bob was like, 'I'm gonna go ahead and start building race tires.' And he did. And it all started right there.” Bob Newton and his wife Joyce started Hoosier Tire in 1957. It grew into an international company, manufacturing and shipping dozens of different kinds of tires all over the world and employing hundreds in Lakeville and Plymouth.

SOUTH BEND - Most of the emergency sirens sounded in St. Joseph County on Saturday, but not all. St. Joseph County Emergency Management Director Bill Zimmerman says 7 of the 67 sirens failed to go off. They are spread out across Granger, Mishawaka, Osceola and Lakeville. Those sirens were inspected on Monday. Now, they are working on repairing them, but some could take a little time as the county waits for new parts.

LAKEVILLE - St. Joseph County fire crews are investigating a house fire they suspect was a case of arson. Four departments responded to the fire Saturday afternoon in the 69-thousand block of U.S. 31 just south of Lakeville. Officers on the scene say they suspect the fire was set by an 18-year-old who lives there. Several family pets were killed in the fire. A man and his two sons live at the house. Investigators say the family is going through a difficult time, and there was a fight between the father and the 18-year-old that may have led to the fire.

SOUTH BEND - A 16-year-old boy is facing felony rape and child molesting charges for allegedly having nonconsensual sex with a 13-year-old girl, according to court documents filed earlier this month in St. Joseph Superior Court. The alleged incident occurred in the early morning Nov. 27 at a home in Lakeville, according to court documents. Kody Oliver is accused of forcing the 13-year-old to have sex with him, according to court documents. The victim told police she was at a home with Oliver and others on the night of Nov. 26, according to court documents.

The 'boil water order' has been lifted for all Town of Lakeville water customers, as of Monday morning. A major main break around 9 p.m. Thursday along S.R. 4 caused a pressure drop in the town's water system, said Marty Martin, Lakeville utility superintendent. State law requires a “boil order” for drinking water until repeated tests show no contaminants entered the water system after the pressure drop. Those test results have been received, allowing the boil order to be lifted, Martin told WSBT Monday morning.

A 1-year-old boy is being treated at Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis after being struck by a truck in an apparent accident at his home just east of Lakeville. According to St. Joseph County police, the father, Marlin, was unhitching a utility trailer from his pickup truck about 10:30 this morning on their property in the 66000 block of Juniper Road. The child was standing with him while he unhitched the trailer, then the father sent the boy to the house while he moved the pickup.