Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis T. Hill, Jr. has authorized the filing of formal charges against ten (10) men arrested on January 13-14, 2012 for patronizing a prostitute, a class (A) misdemeanor.
The Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney has delayed a formal decision on charges for ten (10) men arrested for patronizing a prostitute by the Elkhart Police Department on Jan 13 – 14, 2012, until such time as the Elkhart Police Department can provide the complete report on the operation and facts and circumstances of the arrests.
Elkhart County Prosecuting Attorney Curtis T. Hill, Jr. will perform in the upcoming Premier Arts production of A Christmas Carol which will be opening at the Lerner Theatre on Friday, December 9, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. Subsequent shows will be December 10th at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee on December 11th at 3:00 p.m.
On Monday morning, November 21, 2011, former Indiana State Police Lieutenant Dallard Tackett, 60, pled guilty in Elkhart County Superior Court No. 2 to all seventeen (17) criminal offenses charged against him by the Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis T. Hill, Jr. The seventeen (17) criminal charges included six (6) counts of Forgery, class C felonies, ten (10) counts of Theft, class D felonies, and one (1) count of Official Misconduct, a class D felony.
The Elkhart County Grand Jury investigating the fatal shooting of Melvin Bledsoe, III, age 47, of Goshen, returned a verdict of “No Bill” yesterday afternoon, declining to subject Officer Joshua Havens to any criminal charges for his actions in causing Bledsoe’s death. Havens, an Officer of the Goshen Police Department, employed the use of deadly force after the attempted apprehension of the driver of a Ford F150 pick-up truck police were trying to stop due to traffic violations on September 25, 2011. Bledsoe led police on a pursuit from the New Paris area to the east side of Goshen, where he drove his pick-up truck into the parking lot area of 715 East Lincoln Avenue. While in the parking lot, Bledsoe used his truck to crash the front of one police car, and engage in a head-to-head confrontation with Havens’ fully marked police car in an attempt to evade apprehension. Additional Elkhart County Sheriff’s deputies and Goshen Police Department officers were also unsuccessful in getting Bledsoe to stop, at which time Bledsoe was shot by Officer Havens using his service weapon. Although emergency medical aid was immediately provided, Mr. Bledsoe died at the scene.
On Monday, November 7, 2011, Ronald B. Hawkins was found guilty on two (2) counts of Non-Support of a Dependent Child, both Class C felonies, under Cause Number 20D06-1101-FC-2, after thirteen (13) minutes of deliberation by a twelve person jury in Elkhart Superior Court No. 6.
An Elkhart Superior Court 3 jury took less than two (2) hours on Tuesday November 9, 2011, to return verdicts of guilt convicting Efren Mendoza Vargas, 35, Elkhart, of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class A Felony and Maintaining a Common Nuisance and Possession of Marijuana, both as Class D Felonies. The convictions resulted after the jury heard evidence from an investigation into Vargas by members of the Elkhart County Interdiction and Covert Enforcement Unit (ICE). The investigation by ICE resulted in the execution of a search warrant at his residence on Pottawatomi Drive, Elkhart, Indiana.
In the late evening hours of September 25, 2011, Officer Joshua Havens of the Goshen Police Department employed the use of deadly force during the attempted apprehension of the driver of a Ford F250 pick-up truck police were trying to stop due to numerous traffic violations. The driver of the vehicle was later identified as Melvin Bledsoe III, age 47, of Goshen. Police pursued Bledsoe from the New Paris area to the east side of Goshen, where he drove his pick-up truck into the parking lot area of 715 East Lincoln Avenue. During a confrontation there, Mr. Bledsoe III was shot by Officer Havens using his service weapon. Although emergency medical aid was immediately provided, Mr. Bledsoe died at the scene.
