FULTON COUNTY – The semi driver accused of causing a crash that killed four people earlier this week in Jay County was handed over Thursday to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Authorities say 30-year-old Bekzhan Beishekeev, who resides in Pennsylvania, swerved into the opposing lanes of traffic on SR 67 to avoid slowed traffic ahead and struck a van on Tuesday, killing four people.

According to the Jay County Sheriff’s Office, Beishekeev was arrested through a bench warrant, meaning that his charges weren’t related to the crash. A bench warrant is used for individuals who fail to comply with certain court-ordered measures, usually in another county or state.

Beishekeev was then picked up by Indiana State Police on an immigration warrant on Wednesday and was turned over to federal authorities Thursday morning. Beishekeev, who is from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, was then taken into custody by ICE.

As of Thursday evening, he was being held in the Fulton County Jail, where ICE is holding detainees.

The US Department of Homeland Security issued a news release on the case.

DHS confirmed that Beishekeev entered the U.S. using the Biden administration’s CBP One app. He was then issued a commercial driver’s license in Pennsylvania.

Beishekeev will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings, DHS said Thursday.

DHS said the case is the latest in a “disturbing pattern” of commercial drivers who are in the country illegally, “directly threatening public safety and resulting in senseless loss of life.”

In October, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem reported there were more than 140 truck drivers arrested in Indiana during Operation Midway Blitz, which targeted people with illegal status. DHS specifically named three instances in the last few months, one involving Akhror Bozorov, who was arrested by ICE in November. He was wanted in his home country of Uzbekistan for belonging to a terrorist organization.

The post ICE takes into custody truck driver involved in Jay County crash that killed four appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — Well over 100 people braved Saturday's 18-degree temperature for an hour in Warsaw to honor the memory of Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a protest in Minnesota recently.

[caption id="attachment_125620" align="alignright" width="304"] Many of those at the protest were bundled up to stave off the frigid temperatures Saturday in Warsaw. News Now Warsaw photo by Dan Spalding.[/caption]

The rally, like many in the past year in Warsaw, was a boisterous event with many motorists honking their horns as they drove past the Warsaw Community Public Library in support of protesters who were lined up along North Detroit Street near Center Street.

Good, who died on Jan. 7, was quickly demonized by the Trump administration as a domestic terrorist while many supporters, pointing to online videos, claimed the ICE agent who shot her multiple times was not in imminent danger as Good attempted to drive away from the Minneapolis protest.

Her death has sparked multiple days of protests in Minneapolis and across the country.

While numerous signs at the Warsaw protest attempted to lighten the mood with puns about ICE, Robert Vermillion's assessment on the killing of Good was sobering.

He said he's watched the videos available on social media.

"It's obvious to me that that guy killed her on purpose. He purposely killed her," Vermillion said while holding a large American flag.

"They keep trying to hijack this narrative. "We know what happened on Jan. 6, too. We all witnessed it go down ... they want to rewrite history, they want to send troops into our cities to attack us," Vemlliion said. "That's why I'm here."

Protest signs also called attention to Trump’s authoritarian proclivities and his actions in Venezuela, as well as his ongoing demands to seize control of Greenland despite strong opposition from most Americans and the North American Trade Organization, which represents much of Europe.

The event included continual patrols by Warsaw police, and it remained peaceful.

Below are photos of Saturday's protest by News Now Warsaw's Dan Spalding.

[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="125619,125626,125629,125618,125621,125623"]

The post Warsaw protesters call for end to immigration crackdown, brutality appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — Residents have organized a protest for Saturday in Warsaw over the shooting death of a woman in Minneapolis by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.

The Kosciusko County Democratic Party is organizing Saturday’s 2 p.m. protest outside of the Warsaw Community Public Library at the corner of Center and North Detroit Street.

The “Justice For Good’ protest is in response to the killing of a 37-year-old Renee Good who was shot in the face and died while attempting to drive away from ICE agents during a protest.

More than 1,000 protests were reported across the country over the weekend in response to Good's death, and more unrest was reported Monday in Minneapolis.

The Associated Press reports that days of demonstrations against immigration agents left Minnesota tense on Tuesday, a day after federal authorities used tear gas to break up crowds of whistle-blowing activists and state and local leaders sued to fight the enforcement surge that led to the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman.

Confrontations between federal agents and protesters stretched throughout the day and across multiple cities on Monday.

Representatives of the Trump Administration defended the shooting of Good while many others contend the ICE agent was not in imminent danger.

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WARSAW — Second District Congressman Rudy Yakym met with workers at Zimmer Biomet in Warsaw on Tuesday as part of a district-wide tour touting President Trump’s 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which was recently signed into law.

Yakym is a member of the House Ways and Means committee that helped shape the bill.

He told the Warsaw workers that the large-scale legislation includes tax incentives for research and development efforts that will benefit the orthopedic industry.

As Yakym points out, the medtech sector "is only as good as its next innovation."

The bill added a sense of permanence to the R&D policy, which should provide industry leaders with increased confidence in terms of planning.

"To have the R&D provisions be permanent so that we're not coming back here again in three to five or seven years, having the same conversations with my colleagues, we solved it for once and for all because we were able to make it permanent through our One Big Beautiful Bill," Yakym said, drawing applause from the crowd.

Yakym also took questions from workers. 

One man thanked Yakym for assisting in his wife’s ongoing efforts to gain citizenship, but then went on to ask him to justify supporting policies that have left many people in fear.

Even though she’s on a path toward legal immigration, he said the entire family is fearful and that when she does leave the house, she takes a packet to document her status if questioned.

Yakym responded, saying that he's pleased that Trump has quickly sealed the southern border and emphasized that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should not ge detaining those who are not criminals and who are on a path toward citizenship.

He said Trump's efforts are three-fold: Seal the border. Deport undocumented citizens and then pass some kind of immigration reform effort.

Yakym said he does not support ICE agents taking people into custody who are in good standing and said repeatedly that his office is available to help anyone in the district.

“If you are here illegally and you commit a crime and you’re being deported, adios. Sorry – not sorry. But if you’re here legally and you’re having a problem, give me a call.”

News Now Warsaw talked with Yakym after the event and asked several questions, including if he is concerned about the latest report that shows inflation rising as well s increased grocery prices.

He blamed former President Joe Biden. 

“We’ve stopped all of these additional trillion-dollar spending packages over and above all our normal appropriations process. That’s really what caused inflation to begin with, and we’re excited to see the numbers continue to come down,” Yakym said.

Orthopedic companies, including Zimmer Biomet, have recently updated their projections on charges incurred over increased tariffs, some of which have been reduced significantly since Trump began instituting hikes in tariffs across the globe.

Yakym, noting that trade and tariffs are a crucial issue for the district's expansive manufacturing base, said he wants to see more tariff agreements reached soon so that businesses have a sense of predictability in what to expect.

“There are still deals to be negotiated and need to be finalized. But what you are seeing … is that a lot of trade deals have been negotiated and more are coming," Yakym said.

Audio

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WARSAW — A meeting about President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigration Saturday in Warsaw also focused significantly on federal budget cuts that could trickle down and impact the local level.

Attorney Travis McConnell hosted the meeting to keep the public apprised of what undocumented residents face and an update on federal and state proposed budget cuts.

Attorney Travis McConnell and businessman Nathan Underneath fielded questions for more than an hour and the event was void of political attacks or outright visible anger.

McConnell pointed out that there have been more than a dozen executive orders by Trump related to immigration during his first four weeks in office, he said.

McConnell said he’s not aware of any major raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE officers) at a church or school anywhere in the country and said he thinks the focus has targeted those accused of breaking the law.

Some media reports suggest the pledged crackdown has started rather slowly,

On the other hand, McConnell said contact with jails has ramped up somewhat.

He said he’s only aware of four instances of ICE visiting the local jail in the past decade and three of those have happened since Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20.

The early phase of the apparent crackdown, he said, seems to be focusing "on the detention and removal of unlawful immigrants, specifically those who come into contact with the criminal justice system."

His advice was to stay out of trouble and if necessary, rely on people who can legally drive.

"The best thing that you can do, if you are in that category, is not come into contact with the criminal justice system," McConnell said.

He also urged people to reduce the fear-mongering, some of which he's caught wind of.

Small business-like sized cards were available spelling out the legal options if somebody is questioned by police.

"Everything you say, they are looking with a particular focus, and misunderstandings can happen way too easily," McConnell said. "It's usually best to remain silent. Also, if you are being asked, it's important to assert your right to say, 'I would like to speak with an attorney.' "

Trump’s desire to slash the federal budget — a wide-ranging effort that's already well underway — could affect local programs funded through the US Department of Education which Trump has said could be shut down.

If that happens, programs such as Head Start, and the free and reduced lunch program could be adversely affected.

Some questioned who would pick up the slack if that happens.

"What comes to my mind as a Christian, is like, are the churches going to step up and fill this gap or who is going to fill this gap? This is, from a Biblical context, the poor, depressed the marginalized and the immigrants are being left out," he said.

"I don't know who will if the government won't," he added.

Nearly 50 people attended the meeting at Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion.

A link to the live stream is available at the McConnell's Law Office Facebook page. You can find that here.

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