Richard Frank Jackson of Constantine was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison on Friday, March 22 for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl.
St. Joseph County Circuit Court
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.
Problem-solving courts focus on providing treatment and intense supervision to offenders as an alternative to incarceration. These include drug and sobriety, mental health, veterans, and other nontraditional courts.
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.
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.
With a 3-2 vote the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved a request from 3B District Court for an exception to the county’s hiring freeze during its regular meeting Tuesday, April 20.
St. Joseph County Prosecutor Dave Marvin addressed the St. Joseph County Commission’s executive committee Wednesday concerning an exception to the county’s hiring freeze, a request Marvin has submitted more than once during his first two months in office in an effort to get his house in order.
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.
In a press release Tuesday, the St. Joseph County staff announced the Historic Courthouse building will be closed to the public beginning November 18 and continuing through December 8, 2020. The closure comes following a COVID-19 related order issued Sunday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS order is in response to a statewide spike in COVID-19 cases that began several weeks ago.
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.
Effective a 3:15 p.m. Thursday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a new pandemic health order in response to sharply-rising COVID-19 case numbers. The order’s language limits the number of attendees that may gather at indoor and outdoor gatherings in a variety of settings, particularly those where health officials have observed the most rapid spread of the virus. In related news, In a press release Thursday, Office of the St. Joseph County Administrator announced that the county’s Courts Building is closed to the public.
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.