Law Enforcement

A weekend FBI raid in four states, including Indiana and Michigan, netted nine arrests of alleged Christian militia members. The feds claim they were plotting to kill police. Indictments in the case were unsealed on Monday providing details of the plot. The group is called Hutaree. It's based in Lenawee County, Michigan. The charges members of the group face include seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.

When a man broke into Sandra Hochstedler's home a couple years ago, she held the intruder at gunpoint until police arrived. Now, as president of her neighborhood association, she wants to be sure everyone knows what to do and what NOT to do if faced with the same situation. The German Township Neighborhood Association invited St. Joseph County Sheriff Mike Grzegorek and Prosecutor Mike Dvorak to give tips about protecting your home. Hochstedler never fired a shot at her intruder, but Indiana law says - if she had - it would have been justified.

Drugs, guns and graffiti are staples of the gang lifestyle. And if you think that lifestyle doesn't exist in this area — think again. People who live among gang activity say it is a growing problem, but law enforcement agencies don't want to talk about it. On the west side of South Bend, the writing is on the wall. People who live here say the graffiti is gang related. "We have some problems," said Maria Yeager, a west side resident. And graffiti isn't the only concern. Pedro Carrecosa, another west side resident, said he is afraid to walk outside at night and sometimes during the day. Jeanette Flemming lives next door to Carrecosa.

SOUTH BEND - A St.Joseph County program is helping domestic violence victims. It's making it easier and much quicker for victims of domestic violence to get personal protection orders. It used to take two days for a personal protective order request to pass through several law enforcement offices before being reviewed and approved by a judge. Now, it takes less than two hours. The county courts streamlined the process and are now using the Electronic Protection Order Registry.

SOUTH BEND - 3 men are behind bars on 20 drug- and gun-related charges after leaving a South Bend liquor store and fleeing from police. Around 10:45 p.m. Monday, Indiana State excise police tried to stop a car for a traffic violation after it left Discount Liquors in the 3200 block of W. Sample St. The driver of the car fled from officers, who saw items being thrown out of the windows. The car eventually stopped in the 400 block of Dundee St. There, excise police found about 56 grams of cocaine, 52 grams of which were in 52 individually-packaged bags.

Police say an officer was struck on the head by an unruly suspect on Tuesday. Police received a call about a possibly suicidal person in the 4000 block of West State Road 120. They say Alvin Yoder wouldn’t follow their commands and became aggressive. An officer used her Taser on Yoder and was struck in the head during the struggle, say police. Yoder was taken to Parkview LaGrange Hospital because it was suspected that he ingested a large amount of drugs.

Elkhart County Triad (law enforcement, senior citizens and support services) are joining with AARP, South Bend Medical Foundation and local law enforcement to offer a way to safely dispose of old medications. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon Friday, March 26 at the following locations: Bristol Police Department, 301 E Vistula St. Elkhart Police Department, 175 Waterfall Drive Greencroft Senior Center, 1820 Greencroft Blvd., Goshen Nappanee Police Department, 301 W. Lincoln St. Middlebury Police Department, 418 N. Main St. Interra Credit Union, 300 W. Lincoln Ave., Goshen (8:30 a.m. to noon)

Police say a fight may have led to someone firing a gun outside Macy's at University Park Mall in Mishawaka. Police say someone fired three shots in the parking lot just before 7 Thursday night. Homes near the area were evacuated during a search for suspects. An hour later, officers had three suspects in custody - a 16, 18 and 19 year old. Police also recovered the gun used in the shooting. They say it was stolen. The 19 and 16 year olds were arrested for resisting law enforcement, the 18 year old for criminal recklessness with a firearm and resisting law enforcement.

Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees, who was charged Thursday with four misdemeanor offenses is scheduled to appear in court on May 17. That information was released late Friday morning by the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's office. But charges have not been filed yet against his teammate Carlo Calabrese. A decision by the prosecutor is expected monday in the Calabrese case. Police arrested both men early Thursday morning outside a house in the 700 block of Notre Dame Avenue.

A man and woman wanted more than a Subway lunch Monday. Plymouth Police say the pair are suspected of robbing the restaurant, at 500 N. Michigan St., just before 2 p.m. The pair left the restaurant in a red Ranger which police quickly spotted in the 1600 block of North Michigan Street. The driver failed to stop for Patrolman Nick Young. However, police stopped the driver a short distance away as it was westbound on U.S. 30. Suspects are identified as Richard Gill, 29, with a last known address in Florida, and Leslie Cesavice, 38, of South Bend.

SOUTH BEND - A St.Joseph County program is helping domestic violence victims. It's making it easier and much quicker for victims of domestic violence to get personal protection orders. It used to take two days for a personal protective order request to pass through several law enforcement offices before being reviewed and approved by a judge. Now, it takes less than two hours. The county courts streamlined the process and are now using the Electronic Protection Order Registry.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Law enforcement officials plan to call on state lawmakers to expand Medicaid coverage to more than 300,000 Michigan residents. The group Fight Crime: Invest in Kids and Republican Rep. Matt Lori of Constantine plan to hold an event at the Capitol Tuesday. Members of the group include Lansing Township Police Chief Kay Hoffman. The group says Medicaid coverage for expectant mothers can help prevent children from being born with fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effects.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Republican-led Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee plans to meet this week to consider three gun-related bills introduced in the first week of the state's legislative session. Gun purchases and licensing information would become confidential under a Senate bill to be taken up Wednesday. Information would be available only to law enforcement and would be exempt from Freedom Information Act requests. This bill comes after a New York newspaper published the names and address of local gun owners.

SOUTH BEND - 3 men are behind bars on 20 drug- and gun-related charges after leaving a South Bend liquor store and fleeing from police. Around 10:45 p.m. Monday, Indiana State excise police tried to stop a car for a traffic violation after it left Discount Liquors in the 3200 block of W. Sample St. The driver of the car fled from officers, who saw items being thrown out of the windows. The car eventually stopped in the 400 block of Dundee St. There, excise police found about 56 grams of cocaine, 52 grams of which were in 52 individually-packaged bags.

Anyone buying a gun has to go through an extensive background check, but one thing that's not checked is mental health. The FBI does the background checks. Those checks reveal whether someone has a criminal history. But unless a mental issue has been reported to law enforcement, it won't show up in the person's background. Now, it's important to note that Adam Lanza, who shot and killed 26 adults and children in Connecticut, did not buy the guns used in the massacre.

Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees' court case is now over. The prosecutor dismissed the hearing to determine the amount of restitution to be paid, because the victim has no damages to claim. Rees was arrested in May at an off-campus party. He pleaded guilty in July to illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor and resisting law enforcement. He got a 30-day suspended sentence, 11 months of probation, community service, and has to write a letter of apology to the officer involved.

MISHAWAKA-- The Sikh community in our area has a personal connection to Sunday's shooting tragedy in Wisconsin.   Their place of worship is called a Gurdwara and the priest in Mishawaka, is friends with the priest who was shot Sunday - he's visiting the hospital on Tuesday.   On Monday, the Sikh community invited us inside their second home to understand what they're going through.   Their safe haven suddenly became a place of terror on Sunday.

Notre Dame Quarterback Tommy Rees has pleaded guilty to charges from his May 3 arrest during a party at a home just south of the Notre Dame campus. Per the plea agreement, Rees pleaded guilty to: - Illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, a Class C misdemeanor - Resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor According to the prosecutor's office, the plea agreement includes: - A 30 day suspended sentence - Eleven months of administrative probation - 50 hours of community service - A letter of apology to officers involved The state has agreed to dismiss a charge of resisting law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor, and battery, a Class A misdemeanor.

A Starke County court has convicted Dale Hite of eight charges -- including resisting law enforcement, causing death. In October of 2009 police say they were investigating a possible meth lab when someone recognized the car he was driving. They say he led them on a high speed chase that ended when he crashed in Grovertown. An accident reconstructionist testified Hite was going at least 124 miles an hour when he crashed into two trees. Amber McMillen and Nicholas White were in the car with him and died.

SOUTH BEND - A 30-year-old South Bend man who was shot in the arm by police after pointing a rifle at officers in December was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Wednesday. The Dec. 26 incident involving Eugene Sims started with police trying to stop him in connection with a vehicle arson in the 600 block of Monroe Circle, near Coveleski Stadium, and ended after a two-mile vehicle chase to LaPorte Avenue. St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller sentenced Sims to 14 years on a charge of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm, a Class B felony, and three years for resisting law enforcement, a Class D felony.