For the month of December, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Response handled 1,337 calls for service, which includes 465 traffic stops. For the year, they ended at 14,053 calls for service, with 5,705 traffic stops (which are figured in for the total calls for service). For the year with the Dispatch Center, they took 110,728 phone calls, which is down from last year (123,690). Throughout the entire county including every department, Police had 32,574 calls for service, Fire had 1,827, EMS had 11,608, traffic stops totaled 18,282, animal control had 1,673, Misc. CAD 9,710, with a total for all calls for service for the county at 75,674, which was an increase from last year, which was 68,364. “I would like to point out the numbers for Fire/EMS may not correlate perfectly. Fire will respond to EMS calls for example and being tagged on in the system won’t always translate to a call handled in the numbers every time for them. It’s a glitch in the system being worked on. Law Enforcement calls for service are down from last year,” said Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott.
Uniform Response went to a suspicious vehicle at a closed business south of Lawton on M-40 Highway in the early morning hours. After contact was made with the two individuals sleeping in the car and the investigation was complete on their being there, one individual was untimely lodged for possession of cocaine, according to Sheriff Abbott.
Uniform Response responded to a kayaker in Van Auken Lake who was in distress. The call to Central Dispatch was that he overturned the kayak, was dressed in heavy clothes, and didn’t have a flotation device. Bystanders heard him yelling for help and called as well. Once in the area, a Van Buren County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to locate a boat to get to him, however, before he was able to locate one, a resident had their boat in the water and was able to get the subject out of the frigid water. “The subject was brought to shore and EMS/Ambulance personnel took over from there. A big shout out to the residents who were able to get to him quickly as it probably saved his life,” said Sheriff Abbott.
The Narcotics Team conducted a search warrant at a residence in Columbia Township. Several items were found, and the suspect/homeowner was charged with methamphetamine, felony firearm, and felon in possession of a firearm.
Uniform Response handled two break-ins’ minutes apart. Both were at marijuana dispensaries, and it appears were by the same individuals. A dark colored Jeep Cherokee was the suspect vehicle. Photos were sent out of the suspects for the public’s help in trying to identify them. Anyone with information is asked to call theVan Buren County Sheriff’s Office at (269) 657-3072.
Uniform Response located an AFC Client walkaway and returned the individual back to the facility.
Uniform Response handled multiple complaints involving subjects going through multiple vehicles in the early morning hours on the east side of the county. Subjects were also going through mailboxes and stole a vehicle. Allegan County initially located the stolen vehicle, and it sped away. The vehicle was recovered later that afternoon in the City of Kalamazoo. Suspects were developed in the UDAA, and warrants are being sought.
E-mail Crypto scams continue throughout the county, state, and nation. Throughout the last several weeks, especially around the holidays, people continue to get scammed. “We sent out a news release this past week as a reminder as well as the one we sent out just before the holidays. I cannot stress enough not to click on sites you are not familiar with, never send gift cards as a payment, etc. If you question if it’s a legitimate email, call the bank, company, or whoever it’s from first to confirm it. Once you click on certain e-mails, the virus is in your computer. This year alone, it’s estimated over $100,000 has been taken from victims in our county. Not one e-mail has been linked to our county from the suspects, most of them are from another country,” said Sheriff Abbott.
Friday, November 22, 2024
