Law and Order Porter County
July 23, 2012 3:48PM
Updated: July 23, 2012 4:25PM
PORTAGE
Woman stabbed husband in back
It is unclear who started it, but both Stacy Richardson, 21, who cut her husband with a large kitchen knife, and the husband, Joel Guivas-Vargas, 21, were arrested during a loud fight at about 1:25 a.m. Sunday, on the balcony of an apartment in the 6000 block of Canden, police said. Guivas-Vargas was cut in the back of his shoulder, and both had visible facial injuries from each other’s punches.
Richardson is charged with felony battery with a deadly weapon, and both are charged with felony domestic battery in the presence of a child. Four children and two adult relatives were in the apartment during the fight.
Drunken driver struck dog
Residents of the 6800 and 6900 blocks of Gaylord told police Robert Griffiths, 29, of Liberty Township, was driving fast and erratically up and down the street at about 8:40 p.m. Sunday. Griffiths’ van reportedly struck a dog, “Bruiser,” who was limping after the incident, police said. He also allegedly pulled over to threaten to fight a man who yelled at him to slow down.
Police arrived after Griffith’s had stopped at relatives’ home in the 6900 block of Gaylord. Although he told police he had been at the home all day, one relative told police he had just arrived, drunk and with two children in the vehicle.
Griffiths is charged with five felony counts: drunken driving and two counts each of drunken driving with a child in the vehicle and neglect of a dependent. He also is charged with refusal to identify himself and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. Police stunned him with a Taser during the arrest.
Three men injured in truck collision
Three truck drivers were injured in a crash Monday morning on Interstate 94 near the Indiana 249 exit, Indiana State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Ann Wojas said.
The eastbound right lane remained closed several hours after the 10 a.m. crash while workers cleared the scene, which included the two steel coils being carried on one of the two tractor-trailers involved.
Wojas said Christopher Nagy, 44, of Battle Creek, Mich., moved from the middle lane to the right lane and struck a tractor hauling a covered flat-bed trailer that had just entered the expressway from Indiana 249.
Nagy’s truck hit the back of a truck driven by Eduardo Ramirez Sr., 54, of Sauk Village, Ill.
Ramirez and his co-driver, Eduardo Ramirez Jr., 29, both went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Nagy suffered trauma to his legs and was also taken to the hospital. He was cited for speed too fast to avoid a collision.
PORTER COUNTY
$400,000 in jewelry missing
Custom jewelry worth $400,000 and other property worth more than $10,000 was reported stolen in a home burglary between 7:15 a.m. Thursday and 7 p.m. Sunday. The targeted home is in the 700 block of Ravinia Drive, east across Indiana 149 from South Haven. The victim told police two 60-inch television sets, two video game consoles and more than 600 DVDs also were stolen.
Police noted several thefts have been reported in the same area over the past week.
Burglars left initials, bike tracks
Overnight Friday, unknown people kicked in the front door of a house in the 200 block of Imperial Court, east of Lakes of the Four Seasons. They left graffiti initials and bicycle tire tracks inside, according to the police report. A stereo, television, video game console, jewelry and electric saw were stolen, for an estimated loss of $4,050.
Large number of battery arrests
Brian Kurina, 33, was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery and resisting law enforcement for an alleged incident with a 40-year-old woman at about 6 a.m. Friday at his home, in the 2200 block of Glendale Boulevard, Valparaiso. He also charged with felony theft of a bicycle he used as he fled, police said.
Michael Sobczak, 32, of Valparaiso, was arrested at about 6:10 p.m. Saturday at his home, in the 2300 block of Glendale Boulevard, Valparaiso, for an alleged domestic battery to a 23-year-old woman. The charge is a felony because a child was present.
Bobby Jackson, 40, of Chicago, was arrested at about 1:35 a.m. Saturday at Comfort Inn, 2300 Willowcreek Road, Portage, for misdemeanor domestic battery. The alleged victim is 42-year-old Chesterton woman. Jackson also is charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
Michelle Hagle, 25, of Liberty Township, was arrested for felony domestic battery at about 6:35 p.m. Sunday at the apartment of her 20-year-old male victim, in the 2900 block of Blake. A child was present.
Thomas Caton, 37, of Valparaiso, was arrested for misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking a 36-year-old relative, of a different address in Valparaiso, at about 9 p.m. Saturday in the garage of a home on California Avenue in Lake Eliza.
VALPARAISO
Mom allowed alcohol at open house
Sherry Ripley, 41, will be charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, both misdemeanors, during a high school graduation open house at her home, in the 500 block of Bond Avenue. Ripley reportedly told police she did not see anything wrong with minors consuming alcohol since they were not going to leave the home. Officers went to the area for a loud music complaint at about 12:40 a.m. Sunday.
Becky Ripley, 18, of Valparaiso; Matthew Sumner, 19, of Lafayette; Devin Bafia, 18, of Valparaiso; and Emily Small, 19, of St. John, were taken to jail for underage drinking. Two 17-year-old males and a 16-year-old female, all of Valparaiso, are charged with the same offense, police said.
Ripley was not arrested, police said, because she had to care for other children.
NORTHWEST INDIANA
Police agencies swept beach
Sunday afternoon, plainclothes officers from the Department of Natural Resources, Indiana State Excise Police, Michigan City Police, Long Beach Police, LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department DUI Task Force and the Indiana State Police visited beaches in Porter and LaPorte counties, looking for alcohol or drug violations.
The 30 officers issued 19 citations for alcohol-related offenses and made several arrests: one for possession of drug paraphernalia, four for failure to use seat belts, three for lack of child restraints, one for driving with a suspended license and one for carrying a handgun without a permit.
