Week in Review—Hammond

HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

Pleas:

• Ronald Parks, 60, no known address/homeless, pled guilty before Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offenses of kidnapping and, in a separate matter, the bank robbery of Citizens Bank in Hammond, Indiana. Sentencing in both cases has been set for July 11, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hammond Police Department. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
• Imaru Jones, 29, of Griffith, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry to the felony offense of distribution of marijuana. Magistrate Cherry is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.
• Jazneen Williams, 22, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of making false statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Chicago Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.
• William Weigand, 43, of Portage, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Dispositions:

• Robert Lockhart, 20, of East Chicago, Indiana, a defendant in the case U.S. v Briseno et al., was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 240 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity. Lockhart, a member of the Imperial Gangsters street gang, admitted that during the course of the conspiracy he was responsible for the murder of Miguel Colon. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the East Chicago Police Department; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Gary Police Department, the Hammond Police Department, and the Lake County HIDTA. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Nozick.
• Aaron Grant, 33, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 30 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. Grant has a prior conviction for possession of cocaine in 2005. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
• Jeremiah Stevenson, 23, of Gary, Indiana, a defendant in the case U.S. v Elmore et al., was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 78 months’ imprisonment, $17,954.35 in restitution, and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of the robbery of Auto Zone and the robbery of Gamestop in Hammond, Indiana, and the armed robbery of Tech Credit Union in East Chicago, Indiana.

• Lavelle Hatley, 18, of Gary, Indiana, a defendant in the case U.S. v Elmore et al., was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 108 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of the robbery of Rallys, Family Dollar, and Church’s Chicken restaurants in Gary, Indiana; the robbery of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Merrillville and Hammond, Indiana; the robbery of Domino’s Pizza in Merrillville, Indiana; and the robbery of Auto Zone in Merrillville and Hammond, Indiana.

These cases were the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the East Chicago Police Department, the Gary Police Department, the Hammond Police Department, and the Merrillville Police Department. These cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.