Week in Review—Hammond

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

Dispositions:

Joshua Robinson, 23, of Lafayette, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 33 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. According to documents filed in this case, Robinson, who has an extensive criminal history consisting of juvenile adjudications and adult criminal convictions, burglarized a residence where a .20 gauge shotgun and a .223 caliber rifle were taken. After the firearms were stolen, Robinson and a co-defendant proceeded to take the serial number off one of the firearms in preparation of selling the firearms in Chicago, Illinois. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Tippecanoe County Police Department, and the Lafayette Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.

Che Williams, Jr., 21, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 30 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. 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 Dean Lanter.

Ramon Salinas, Jr., 37, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 210 months’ imprisonment and 25 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of distribution of child pornography. According to documents filed in this case, law enforcement conducted an online Internet investigation to identify those possessing and sharing child pornography. The investigation identified an IP address belonging to the Salinas residence sharing files containing material depicting minors under the age of 16 engaged in sexual acts or poses. A search warrant was executed at this residence where law enforcement found that Salinas possessed at least 60 videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Salinas also has a prior conviction for possession of child pornography in Marion County in 2005. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Indiana State Police, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Highland Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

James Urschel, 47, of Lafayette, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to three years of probation after pleading guilty to the felony offense of false impersonation of a federal officer. According to documents filed in this case, Urschel impersonated a Deputy United States Marshal while buying numerous firearms at Gander Mountain in Lafayette, Indiana. He would then pawn the guns at a local pawn shop for cash. 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 Nicholas Padilla.

Charles E. Johnson, Jr., 33, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 37 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of distribution of crack cocaine. According to documents filed in this case, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Johnson’s residence and found 17.9 grams of crack cocaine in a safe. Johnson had a felony conviction for dealing in cocaine in 2008 and was on probation for that offense when he was charged in this case. 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 Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

Daryl V. Johnson, 40, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 180 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to documents filed in this case, Johnson has 15 prior felony convictions and nine misdemeanor convictions over a period of 18 years. Johnson was in a motor vehicle that was pursued by Hammond Police Department due to the occupants violating the seat belt law. After the vehicle fled from police, Johnson exited the vehicle and fled on foot. The police recovered a handgun from the route on which Johnson fled. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Hammond Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.

Regina Cabell, 39, of Lafayette, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 18 months’ imprisonment and $79,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of health care fraud—submitting a claim to Indiana Medicaid for providing a service to an Indiana Medicaid recipient to whom she did not actually provide the claimed service—and failing to file a federal income tax return for her gross income of $297,567 in the 2011 tax year. According to documents filed in this case, Cabell, d/b/a L&G Transportation, submitted approximately $96,600 in false claims to Indiana Medicaid for providing transportation services that did not actually occur. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Internal Revenue Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.