04-05-2018 Recall petitions filed for Coloma Charter Township officials, Parrigin and Fulton; Suprem

ARMED ROBBERY… A masked gunman was recorded last week on a security camera holding up the Pri Mart Citgo gas station in Watervliet.

Police and Fire Reports

By Annette Christie

Watervliet robbery: Crime of the Week

 The Crime of the Week comes from the files of the Michigan State Police.

On March 27, 2018, at approximately 11:47 p.m., the Michigan State Police responded to the Pri-Mart gas station located at 3831 M-140 Hwy, in Watervliet Township in reference to an armed robbery.

After the police arrived on the scene it was discovered that three subjects robbed the store clerk at gunpoint and stole an undetermined amount of cash. The three suspects then fled the gas station in an unknown direction.

Crime Stoppers wants the persons responsible for this armed robbery and will pay up to $1,000 for information leading to their arrest.

Crime Stoppers also pays cash rewards on other felony crimes and the capture of fugitives.

Michiana Crime Stoppers is a donor-funded program that serves 12 counties in Michiana. They can be contacted about this or any felony crime or fugitive. Tips can be submitted unanimously at www.michianacrimestoppers.com or through a link on their Facebook page. Tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-342-STOP.

Paw Paw River kayaker still missing

 Efforts by multiple emergency services agencies have turned up empty as they continue to search for a kayaker who went missing in the river on February 27.

Cory Wright, 35, of Niles was kayaking in the area with two other men when they hit a log and flipped over.  One of the men re-surfaced but Wright did not.

Watervliet Fire Department Chief Dan Jones said that the efforts of the Watervliet Fire Department and the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department have been delayed due to the weather conditions.  “We are in rollback mode but we are not quitting,” Jones said adding, “The cold weather is not conducive for what we are trying to do.”

While there may not be people out in the river every day combing the banks, the department is continuing to use technology provided by drones and high definition photos and video that they monitor and review to look for changes that would then be checked out by personnel being sent to the specific location.  “Hopefully we get a break in the weather,” Jones said.

Sister Lakes Fire asked MDOT for dangerous road fix

 The Sister Lakes Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle under water on March 31 at approximately 2:40 a.m.  The department responded to M-152 just north of Karl St. to find a vehicle under water with only the trunk showing. A member of the department was on the scene in less than five minutes with divers in the water in less than 15 minutes.  The divers, however, were unable to gain access to the vehicle due to the orientation of the vehicle and the zero visibility water conditions.

With the assistance of a wrecker company, the fire department had the car out of the water in less than 40 minutes and the rescue mission to save the lone female occupant of the car had a hint of success as they were able to get her out and in the ambulance.  The driver, however, succumbed to her injuries.  The vehicle was removed from approximately 16 feet of water.

Multiple agencies were on hand to assist with the incident including helicopters from West Michigan Air Care and Memorial Med Flight, Keeler Township Fire Department, Indian Lake Fire Department divers, Van Buren County Sheriff’s Department divers, Pride Care Ambulance, Michigan State Police, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, Pokagon Tribal Police, and the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Chief Anthony Lozada wasted no time in contacting the Michigan Department of Transportation in an effort to address the deep waters that gather along the roadway with no guard rails. Lozada said that representatives from MDOT did not have the correct depth of the water.  In addition, it is hoped that they will change the grade at the drop off by the road.

Lozada noted that this is the first underwater vehicle recover that the department’s dive team has done since he could remember. He said that if he can’t get MDOT to do anything, he will come back to the township to see what can be done.

National Crime Victims’ Week to be recognized in Berrien County

 Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic and Coordinator of the Prosecutor’s Office Victim/Witness Services Division, Carolyn Groen, announce that during Crime Victims’ Rights Week (April 8 – 14), they will host a memorial event at the Courthouse in St. Joseph.

The event is in memory of victims who lost their lives as the result of a crime committed in Berrien County during 2017 and to date in 2018.

On Friday, April 13, invited guests who attend the event will be given a balloon to write a message on and then be escorted outside with a victim advocate to launch the helium-filled ballroom in memory of their loved one or friend who is a deceased crime victim.

The mid-day balloon launching event (11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.) will provide for families and friends of deceased victims to honor the memory of their loved one.

The event will also be an opportunity for participating families to convey to the community a message of hope, restoration, and healing for those whose lives have been forever changed as a result of losing a loved one in a crime. Although this event is an awareness event for Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the hope is that it will also serve as a reminder to the community of the pain and suffering that crime victims and their families endure yet demonstrate that victims are not forgotten.

Recall petitions filed for Coloma Charter Township officials, Parrigin and Fulton

By Annette Christie Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler has received two recall petitions for Coloma Township Officials; Township Supervisor Ken Parrigin and Treasurer Jim Fulton. According to petition language filed with the Clerk’s office, Fulton failed to follow the Coloma Charter Township Board vote passed December 31, 2017 to obtain 3-4 pension studies for township employees. It goes on to say that Fulton directed the Deputy Treasurer to set up a “Public Safety Division” in the Municipal Employees Retirement System to illegally transfer Public Safety Millage funds towards the Township’s unfunded accrued liability on January 4, 2018. The documentation referring to Supervisor Ken Parrigin states that on March 7, m2018, he admitted that he was not intelligent enough to understand a contract that he signed on behalf of the Township which immediately created a $331,700 liability for the Township. The documentation states that it was signed on March 13, 2008. The petitions state that the circulator is James Nigro of Coloma. Tyler has set a Clarity Hearing for Tuesday, April 17 at 1:00 p.m. at the Berrien County Courthouse, Room 210. The recall process starts with submission of recall petition language to the County Clerk’s office. The petition sponsor must be a registered voter in the electoral district in which he is represented. The Clarity Hearing is set between 10 and 20 days after submission of the language. The hearing will determine whether each reason for recall is factual and of sufficient clarity. If the petition language is approved, the recall petition can be circulated. The number of signatures needed to trigger a recall election is 25% of the votes cast in the district for the last gubernatorial general election. Once the signatures are collected they are turned in and the verification process takes place. If the recall petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the County Clerk calls for a special election to be conducted.

Supreme Court denies Berrien County appeal in Coloma Gun Range suit

By Annette Christie An effort by Berrien County officials, asking the Michigan Supreme Court to consider an appeal of the long-embattled Sheriff’s Gun Range case has been denied. The order dated March 30, 2018 states that after considering briefs and oral arguments, the application for leave to appeal a September 2016 judgment is denied. “We are no longer persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court,” the order read. That September 2016 ruling included a dissenting opinion and a 2-1 ruling. The ongoing battle is between the powers of the county’s authority (the County Commissioners’ Act to site county buildings) and the township’s authority (local zoning ordinances that regulate land use).

12-year battle

Deputies began using the range in September 2013, when the County built a three-side building in an attempt to meet requirements set by a court.

Berrien County built and established a training facility in 2005 on Angling Road for the purpose of providing a place for Berrien County Sheriff’s Department members to obtain the required training with firearms. They did so without obtaining local permitting through Coloma Township, citing the County Commissioner Act. They built a classroom for the instructional portion of the training and constructed shooting bays for the active shooting part of the training. A group of local citizens took the case all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court where in 2008 it was ordered that the facility be closed down and that Berrien County should have sought local approval. The Supreme Court ruled that while the county had the authority under the act to construct a building without local zoning approval, it did not extend to the outside activities of shooting at the four shooting ranges. Without success, Berrien County applied for a special land use permit through Coloma Township in 2010 and after many years, was not approved. Sheriff’s Department officials trained at the Coloma Rod and Gun Club in the meantime. In the fall of 2013, Berrien County erected a three-sided building on the end of one of the ranges. The building houses the shooters while they are training. They then began training once again out of this building. Efforts through the court system began again by Coloma Township and the group of private citizens that took Berrien County to court previously. It was discovered through the new court filings that Berrien County Trial Court Judge John Dewane had actually issued the permanent injunction in 2008 following the Supreme Court ruling. County officials who may or may not have been in those positions then but are now, were not aware of the permanent injunction and once they were, shooting from the shooting building ceased. In January 2014, Dewane approved limited firearms training from the shooting building, partially modifying the 2008 permanent injunction, pending the outcome of court filings. The request by Coloma Township to declare that the 2013 shooting building violates the township zoning ordinance was denied by Dewane. In October 2014, Berrien County Trial Court Judge John Dewane issued an opinion which would allow the Berrien County Sheriff and his deputies to use one shooting range for training at the Sheriff’s Department facility. The order modifies a 2008 permanent injunction that prevented shooting at any of the ranges at the facility In his ruling, Dewane found that the structure put up that fall is a county building with its purpose being to house the shooters so they can shoot out into the ranges and that does fall under the authorities described in the County Commissioner Act. While Berrien County Circuit Court Judge John Dewane agreed, the Court of Appeals did not agree, thus landing at the September 2016 2-1 ruling. The dissenting opinion given by Judge Jane E. Markey stated, “I would affirm the circuit court in both cases on all issues. Specifically, I conclude that the circuit court correctly ruled that the structure at issue is a ‘county building.’” What now? The Berrien County Board of Commissioners did not meet last week when the ruling was given. Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said that he is disappointed that the Michigan Supreme Court did not hear the case and make a decision. While the staff of the Sheriff’s Department has found places to conduct their mandated training, the Sheriff will begin talks with the County Commissioners to discuss options.