Week in Review – Hammond

HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following:

William Rostin, 45, of Crown Point, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Moody to three bank robberies: 1) the robbery of Fifth Third Bank on Sibley Street in Hammond, Indiana, on July 8, 2011; 2) the robbery of First Financial Bank on Cline Avenue in Highland, Indiana, on July 11, 2011; and 3) the robbery of TCF National Bank in South Holland, Illinois, on July 12, 2011. Rostin agreed in the plea agreement that in each of the bank robberies he displayed a note stating that he possessed a firearm, although he did not actually have a firearm. In his plea agreement, Rostin also agreed to pay full restitution for all money taken in the robberies. Rostin has a prior felony conviction for the robbery of a bank in Hammond, Indiana, as well. Rostin remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hammond, Indiana Police Department, the Highland, Indiana Police Department, and the South Holland, Illinois Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

James Costello, 31, of Hammond, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Moody to the felony offense of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and agreed to forfeit firearms and ammunition recovered during his arrest. In September 2010, the ATF executed a search warrant on Costello’s Hammond residence and recovered two pounds of marijuana, 7.62 x 39 mm semi-automatic rifle, a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, .40 caliber ammunition, .223 caliber ammunition, 9 millimeter ammunition, and .38 caliber ammunition. Costello has been detained since his arrest in September 2010. Sentencing has been set for 12/2/11. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the assistance of the Hammond Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Brandon Lee, 22, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in a criminal complaint with the felony offense possessing a loaded .38 caliber revolver as a felon. At the time of the offense, Lee was on parole for a prior felony conviction for dealing controlled substances. Lee is currently in custody. This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Indiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Darcell Perkins, 25, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in a criminal complaint with the felony offense of possessing a firearm as a felon. On September 28, 2011, the Gary Police Department responded to a domestic incident at a residence in Gary, Indiana, after which Perkins was arrested in possession of a firearm. Perkins has a prior felony conviction for attempted residential entry. Perkins remains detained pending a detention hearing. This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and Gary Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Delilah Day, 29, of Carpentersville, Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of attempting to and conspiracy to commit fraud with identification documents in the case U.S. v Wilson et al. Sentencing has been set for 1/6/12. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Damon Lamont Jones, 41, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Rudy Lozano to 18 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of criminal infringement of copyrights by reproducing and distributing copyrighted works having a total retain value of more than $2,500. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Benson.

Kristy Saffa, 24, of Hobart, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession of Pseudoephedrine in the case U.S. v Lee et al. Sentencing has been set for 2/15/12. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Indiana State Police, and the Porter County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

Shane Howard, 28, of Rensselaer, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession of Pseudoephedrine in the case U.S. v Lee et al. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Indiana State Police, and the Porter County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

Eloy Ortega, 39, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 46 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration HIDTA Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

Peter Buschmann, 59, of Lafayette, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment, returned in November 2008, alleges he possessed nine firearms and ammunition. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Sentencing has been set for 12/15/11. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Fairly Earls, 58, of Crestwood, Illinois, was sentenced by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 60 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of making false statements in the application/use of passport, fraud with identification documents and transfer of false identification documents. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Department of State. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.

Jeffrey Julkes, Jr., 27, of Schererville, Indiana, pled guilty before Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of wire fraud in the case U.S. v Chandler et al. Sentencing has been set for 1/5/12. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Alfredo Oropeza, 45, of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 27 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of making a false oath in a bankruptcy proceeding, and being an alien in possession of a firearm. This case was the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Office of Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Michael T. Wilson, 27, of Valparasio, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Rudy Lozano to 210 months’ imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of distributing child pornography and possession of child pornography. Restitution of $2,000 was agreed to and paid to a victim prior to sentencing. Wilson will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

In December 2009 and February 2010, law enforcement officers acting in an undercover capacity downloaded numerous child pornography images and videos via a peer-to-peer file-sharing program operated by Wilson. Following those downloads, law enforcement obtained a warrant to search Wilson’s apartment. When that warrant was executed on March 1, 2010, law enforcement discovered over 200,000 images and videos of child pornography on Wilson’s computer and computer-related equipment.

Wilson admitted in his plea agreement that he had distributed and possessed depictions of minors under the age of 12 being caused to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Wilson also admitted in the plea agreement that he possessed depictions of minors being caused to engage in sadomasochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. Wilson further admitted that he distributed the sexually explicit images and videos of children via the Internet for the receipt, or expectation of receipt, of a thing of value in return.

Wilson was employed at the time of his arrest as a University Research Assistant, and as a Developmental/Behaviorist Instructor for children with developmental disabilities. Wilson also worked as a substitute grade school teacher in various school districts in Northwest Indiana.

The case against Wilson resulted from a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Indiana State Police. Those agencies were joined by other Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Members including the Office of the Indiana Attorney General and the Porter County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill R. Koster as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The specific sentence in each case to be imposed upon conviction will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.