A St. Joseph County Circuit Court jury returned guilty verdicts this week on four of five charges lodged against 29-year-old Sturgis resident Brandon Forbes, who attacked a family member with a hammer in 2022.
Judge Paul Stutesman
Adalberto (Jacob) Garcia, 24, of Sturgis faces up to 20 years in prison after a St. Joseph County Circuit Court jury found Garcia guilty on multiple charges related to possessing and processing child sexually abusive material, according to a press release issued by County Prosecutor David Marvin.
Melissa Bliss, who was most recently a deputy clerk for St. Joseph County and Three Rivers’ city clerk before that, was hired as the county’s director of community corrections in December, officially beginning work on January 1.
St. Joseph County Community Corrections (SJCCC) will likely see a reduction of $87,354 in state grants next year, with the county expected to receive $26,571 in Public Act 511 funding compared to the $113,925 it received in 2021.
Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman sentenced Lee Parker, Jr., 22, of Three Rivers on Friday, August 6 in the shooting of Grace Hussey, who was shot in the head near River Trail Apartments in Three Rivers on April 9, 2020.
A St. Joseph County Circuit Court jury Tuesday found Lee Parker, Jr., 22, of Three Rivers guilty in the shooting of Grace Hussey, who was shot in the head near River Trail Apartments in Three Rivers on April 9, 2020.
Testimony in the trial of Lee Parker, Jr. concluded just after noon on Thursday, June 24 in St. Joseph County Circuit Court. The trial will resume Tuesday, June 29 with jury instructions and closing arguments prior to the jury beginning deliberations.
Witness testimony in the trial of Lee Parker, Jr., 21, of Three Rivers began Wednesday in St. Joseph County Circuit Court with Judge Paul Stutesman presiding. Parker faces one count of assault with intent to commit murder, and one count of felony firearm in connection with the April 9, 2020 shooting of Grace Hussey.
Watershed Voice recently spent an afternoon in the courtroom of St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman to discuss the future of “Zoom court,” and observe the new normal the pandemic has created for the criminal justice system.
Randall Scott Miller, 34, of Three Rivers was sentenced on Friday, December 18 in St. Joseph County Circuit Court in relation to the 2019 death of Lori Norman, who was found unresponsive in her 5th Street home on March 25, 2019
In the 23 years since Douglas S. Shuman shot and killed his parents, he has walked the long road of rehabilitation, turning “emotional impairment” into “emotional growth,” by “digging into the remorse and sorrow” he has carried during his two-plus decades behind bars.
In a resentencing hearing held in St. Joseph County Circuit Court Thursday, Judge Paul Stutesman reduced the minimum sentence of 41-year-old Douglas S. Shuman, who was originally sentenced to two concurrent terms of life in prison and two additional years for a felony firearm conviction, after he shot and killed his parents James and Arunee Shuman in Three Rivers in 1997.
Thomas Stambaugh, the perpetrator in the hit-and-run killing of Laura Jacobs in the Three Rivers Meijer parking lot last June, received his sentence Friday. During a hearing in St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court, Stambaugh faced Judge Paul Stutesman and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Robare, represented by his attorney, David Marvin. Stutesman received a prison sentence after he pled guilty to the killing last month.
Randall Miller pled guilty in St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court Tuesday for the murder of Lori Norman on March 25, 2019. Norman was found unresponsive in her home, and police who responded at the time were unable to revive her. An autopsy report issue afterward suggested she may have died from strangulation. In addition, she had a variety of cuts and bruises she may have sustained at the same time. Appearing on Tuesday before Judge Paul Stutesman, Miller accepted a deal from St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough in exchange for his guilty plea on a charge of second-degree murder.
Nicholas Mastos, one of three codefendants in a home invasion that took place on South Constantine Street in Three Rivers in the early hours of July 19, has received his sentence. Last month, Mastos pled guilty to one count of first-degree home invasion as well as one count of attempted breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny, Mastos’ fourth such habitual offense.
The 45th Circuit Court of St. Joseph County has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Justice. St. Joseph County Circuit Court Adult Drug Treatment Court Program Director Dr. Barbara Howes confirmed the award at a meeting Wednesday. In a Facebook post, Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman said, “I am extremely proud to announce that the 45th Circuit Court has been awarded a new grant from the Federal Government in the amount of $600,000 over the next three years to address the substance abuse needs in our County.”
Despite reduced utilization of services and fewer funding dollars from some sources, St. Joseph County’s offender rehabilitation programs are adapting and continuing to serve. Community Corrections Director Rose Ludwick, District Court Judge Jeffrey C. Middleton, and others discussed current challenges and opportunities and approved changes at a Community Corrections Advisory Board (CCAB) meeting Wednesday.
Thomas Stambaugh pled guilty Monday in the St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court Monday for the hit-and-run killing of Laura Jacobs on June 18, 2020, in the Three Rivers Meijer parking lot.