Week in Review—Hammond

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

Pleas:

• Rufus O. Williams, 31, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge James Moody to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
• Jack Allan Schaap, 54, of Dyer, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Sentencing has been set for January 15, 2013. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Susan Collins and Jill Koster.
• Jerome Scott, 23, of East Chicago, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of manufacture of counterfeit currencies. Sentencing has been set for December 6, 2012. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall Stewart.
• Justin Sullivan, 25, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge James Moody to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.
• Marquis Young, 22, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge James Moody to the felony offense of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

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:

• Ismail Bashir, 34, of Country Club Hills, Illinois, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 24 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government in this case, Bashir was arrested following shooting a firearm multiple times into the ground in the middle of the night at the Mansards apartment complex. The firearm turned out to be a fully automatic machine gun. Bashir possessed 85 rounds of ammunition and two extended capacity magazines. Bashir has a prior felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance. This case was the result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Griffith Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.
• Daniel Wilson, 51, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 42 months’ imprisonment, restitution of $88,205.09, and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of conspiracy to commit fraud with identification documents and fraud with identification documents. According to the indictment charging Wilson, he obtained fraudulent birth documents purportedly issued from the state of Illinois, Social Security account numbers issued to other individuals, and fraudulent earnings statements purportedly issued by businesses. Wilson utilized these documents to obtain numerous State of Indiana identification cards and subsequently opened bank accounts at various financial institutions in Indiana and Illinois utilizing these fraudulent obtained ID cards and Social Security numbers. He also cashed counterfeit checks at various financial institutions and/or merchants. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.
• Sergio Perez-Uribe, 39, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 27 months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of re-entry of a deported alien. This case was the result of an investigation by ICE-Department of Homeland Security. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Benson.
• Marcellis Barbee, 38, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 27 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of failure to register as a sex offender. According to documents filed with the sentencing memorandum by the government in this case, Barbee was convicted of sexual assault in Illinois in 1992 after he forcibly raped a 15-year-old girl. Because of this offense and others, Barbee was required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. After a subsequent arrest for public intoxication in East Chicago, Indiana, law enforcement found that Barbee had been living in Indiana since July 2011 and had not registered as a sex offender. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Marshals Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.