Indictments Returned in Hammond Federal Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 19, 2012 |
HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced that the following indictments were returned on January 18, 2012:
Wendell Walker, 21, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Gary Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.
Joseph B. Miller, 48, of Chicago, Illinois, was charged in an indictment with the bank robbery of Standard Bank and Trust in Hammond, Indiana in December 2011. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.
Cynthia Ceaser, 48, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with theft of government property. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.
Fletcher Peterson, 67, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with theft of government property. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.
Richard L. Hawkins, 27, of Lafayette, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm having been convicted of escape in 2006, and domestic battery in 2008. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Lafayette Police Department. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.
Christopher Cannon, 43, of Gary, Indiana, was charged in an indictment with mail fraud. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall Stewart.
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. The United States Attorney’s Office emphasized that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.