Week in Review—Hammond

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

Pleas:

• Jose Gonzalez, 31, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Sentencing has been set for August 7, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.
• Johana Velazquez, 29, of Rensselaer, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Sentencing has been set for June 27, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Illinois State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.
• Krystal Puntillo-Raggs, 21, Javorious Raggs, 22, and Terrence Benson, 22, of Hammond, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of passing counterfeit obligations. Sentencing for Raggs and Benson has been set for July 12, 2013. Puntillo-Raggs will be sentenced on August 13, 2013. 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.
• Darren Williams, 34, of Lafayette, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of possession of child pornography. Sentencing has been set for July 10, 2013. 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 and the Columbus, Indiana Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.
• Julian Rebeles, 22, of Hammond, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Sentencing has been set for July 10, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Hammond Police Department. 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:

• Phillip Ramos, II, 25, of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 27 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. According to documents filed by the government, during a traffic stop involving Ramos, Hammond Police found a black duffel bag holding eight plastic bags containing a total of 3,600 gross grams of a green leafy substance purported to be marijuana. Additionally, the duffel bag contained six ounces of a white, rock-like substance purported to be cocaine, along with a Volunteer Enterprises and Smith and Wesson revolvers. A Sentry Safe was also located in the trunk of the vehicle that contained 647 gross grams of marijuana, a bag that contained 22.5 gross grams of cocaine and assorted prescription pills. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hammond Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.
• Nathan Elmore, 22, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 121 months’ imprisonment, $21,440.80 in restitution, and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of the robberies of Rally’s, Family Dollar, Church’s Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Auto Zone in Gary, Indiana; Game Stop and Auto Zone in Hammond, Indiana; and the armed robbery of Tech Credit Union in East Chicago, Indiana.
• Seandell Rounds, 21, of Riverdale, Illinois, a co-defendant in the Elmore case, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 57 months’ imprisonment, $189 in restitution, and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of the robberies of Subway in Gary and Auto Zone in Merrillville, Indiana.

These charges were brought as a result of a cooperative law enforcement effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the East Chicago Police Department, the Gary Police Department, the Hammond Police Department, and the Merrillville Police Department.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.