A Marshall County grand jury reviewed three cases this week, ending up with one indictment and one investigation still ongoing. Prosecutor Nelson Chipman announced Friday that Delbert Ray Polenske has been indicted in connection with a crash on February 15 at U.S. 6 and King Road that resulted in the death of Melia Sue Byrer, 33.
“She was hit from the rear by a semi tractor-trailer driven by Delbert Ray Polenske, age 57, of Bancroft, Nebraska,” Chipman said. “The grand jury indicted in two counts.”
Polenske is accused of the Level 5 felonies of reckless homicide – specifically, for driving too fast – and criminal recklessness. “Please understand that these are just allegations and that the person is presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” Chipman noted.
But the grand jury declined to charge Brittany Nichole Burch Jensen, 24, of Walkerton, with leaving the scene of an accident in which a pedestrian was killed. James Michael Shuck, 34, of Rochester, died after the crash north of Argos on March 13. Chipman says there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were factors. “The grand jury was not looking into the cause of the collision, all the details of the pedestrian being where he was and all that or her driving behavior that led up to the collision,” Chipman explained. “That was not their charge. It was just the after-effect.”
However, Chipman says the October, 2019 fire at 415 Lakeshore Drive in Culver remains under investigation. “There hasn’t been an indictment,” he said. “There hasn’t been a charge. I will say that it’s beyond arson. There’s other things going on in the investigation.”
A town demolition order was under appeal at the time the fire happened. Chipman says the person of interest is Scotty Van Hawk, 50, who may also be known by some other names, but police don’t currently know where he is. “There’s a warrant currently out of Marshall County for the offense of carrying a handgun without a license,” Chipman said. “Kosciusko County, that’s the last known county of residence of Mr. Van Hawk, and they have warrants out, as well.”
The prosecutor asks anyone with information to contact Indiana State Police.
