South Bend Police Department Press Release

-
At approximately 5:40 p.m., the South Bend Police Department Communications Center received a call of a man-down in the 600 block of West Marion Street in South Bend.

Officers and EMS personnel arrived and found a 46 year-old South Bend resident lying in the street with a life threatening head wound. The victim was rushed to a local hospital where he is listed in Critical Condition. Due to the severity of the injuries, the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit (MHU) was called in to investigate the case.

Officers, while investigating at the scene, were directed by an eyewitness to a house at the corner of Lafayette and Marion streets. They were told that this may be the residence of the suspect in the beating. The witness provided a clothing description of the suspect as well as a name. Officers surrounded the Lafayette Street residence, and conducted a search of the house. While this search was in progress, an anonymous caller telephoned a tip to the South Bend Police Communications Center advising officers that the suspect in this case may be located inside a residence in the 800 block of West Oak Street, approximately 1/4 of a mile southwest of the crime scene. Officers then went to that location and located the suspect in the beating. He is a 22 year-old South Bend resident and was taken into custody and transported to MHU Headquarters. He has subsequently been arrested and taken to the St. Joseph County Jail and booked in under a charge of Attempted Murder.

Both the identities of the victim and suspect are being witheld at this time pending further investigation. Any persons with knowlege of this crime are asked to contact the MHU at 574-235-5009, or Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.
-
UPDATE

The victim in this case, Robert L. Plump, 46 of South Bend has died of his injuries. Arrested for Murder in connection with the incident is Scott B. Wallace, 22 also of South Bend.

-
The South Bend Police Department held it's 5th annual awards ceremony Sunday afternoon at the Ivy Tech Campus near downtown South Bend. Over 350 people witnessed the ceremony to give recognition to police and community memebers that made a difference in 2006. Read about it in the South Bend Tribune. Here is a list of the Award Recipients, also courtesy of the South Bend Tribune.

Today at 4:00pm., the South Bend Police Department communications center received a call of a bank robbery a the National City Bank, located at 110 N. LaFayette Blvd. in downtown South Bend.

Officers arrived and were advised by bank employees that a single African American male entered the bank armed with a pistol and demanded money. After robbing the institution, he reportedly exited via the front doors and fled in an easterly direction. After a brief area search, an officer located the winter clothing the suspect was wearing during the robbery in the rear of a building to the east of the bank. The physical description of the suspect is:

Male African American; 5'-07"; average build; no facial hair.

South Bend Police Department detectives are currently investigating this incident. There was video surveillance equipment operating inside the bank at the time of the robbery. If usable images are recovered from that system they will be released to the media for public viewing.

Anyone with information on this robbery is asked to call the South Bend Police Department Investigative Division at 574-235-9263