Week in Review—Hammond

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

Pleas

Ora Mae Deshazer Wilson, 53, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud with identification documents. Sentencing has been set for 6/12/12. 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.

Robert Wallace, Jr., 48, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before to the felony offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sentencing has been set for 4/19/12. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Gary Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.

Demetrius Finley, 31, of Hazel Crest, Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of attempt and conspiracy to commit fraud with identification documents in the case U.S. v Wilson et al. Sentencing has been set for 5/11/12. 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.

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.

Dispositions

Ronald Zitt, 34, of Pine Township, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Rudy Lozano to life imprisonment on count one of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin, and 360 months’ imprisonment on each of counts two and four charging him with distribution of heroin, all terms to be served concurrently. Upon release from imprisonment, Zitt will be placed on supervised release for a period of 10 years. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Porter County Drug Task Force, the Michigan City Police Department, the Indiana State Police, the LaPorte County Prosecutor and the LaPorte Metro Operations Drug Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

Laquishea Rogers, 27, of Merrillville, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to one day of imprisonment with time considered served, followed by a term of two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of making false statements on a loan application. Restitution was ordered in the amount of $168,699. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.

Lisa Mahone, 40, of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 16 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.