Week in Review—Hammond

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

Pleas:

• Daniel Roman, 22, address unknown, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Sentencing has been set for August 27, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.
• Allen Evens, 24, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. Sentencing has been set for September 4, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.
• Kenneth Robinson, 35, of Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of health care fraud. Sentencing has been set for December 17, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of Labor. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.
• Sammy Earl Jones, 30, of Gary, 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 24, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas McGrath.
• Justin Tiggs, 29, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Sentencing has been set for August 14, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas McGrath.
• Joseph Jamal Smith, 20, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty before Senior District Judge James Moody 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. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas McGrath.
• Roman Perez, 41, of Crown Point, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offenses of making false statements on a tax return and making false statements in a bankruptcy proceeding. Sentencing has been set for November 14, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Philip Benson.

Dispositions:

• Justin Sullivan, 26, 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 by a convicted felon. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Sullivan has multiple convictions, including a narcotics conviction and an offense for a domestic dispute. 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 Joshua Kolar.
• Richard Hawkins, 29, of Lafayette, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 51months’ 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 documents filed by the government in this case, Hawkins has three felony convictions and eight misdemeanor convictions. In less than a 10-year period, the defendant was convicted of the following: maintaining a common nuisance, a felony, in 2003; theft, a misdemeanor, in 2003; leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor, in 2003; resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor, in 2003; escape, a felony, in 2006; battery, a misdemeanor, in 2006; domestic battery, a misdemeanor, in 2008; operating while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, in 2008; resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor, in 2011; operating a vehicle while suspended, a misdemeanor, in 2011; and dealing in cocaine, a felony, in 2012. Additionally, the defendant has continuously violated his probation in the majority of his criminal cases. 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.
• Rufus Williams, 32, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 51months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Williams has an extensive adult criminal history. In 2001, he was convicted of misdemeanor unlawful use of a weapon for possessing a firearm at a time when he was not on his own land, abode, or fixed place of business. In 2006, the defendant was convicted of the misdemeanor failure to stop after an accident resulting in non-vehicle damage and misdemeanor driving while suspended with prior conviction. In 2006, the defendant was convicted of the violent misdemeanor of battery. In 2006, the defendant was also conviction of the felony of auto theft and was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. In 2006, the defendant was also conviction of the felony of residential burglary and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and two years mandatory supervised release. In 2009, the defendant was convicted of misdemeanor retail theft. Lastly, the defendant also has a 2009 misdemeanor conviction for carrying a weapon without a license. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
• Manolo Lopez-Ramirez, 27, of Valparaiso, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 27months’ imprisonment and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Lopez-Ramirez was arrested by U.S. Customs in 2011 for fraud and was under deportation proceedings when arrested. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Porter County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.
• Douglas Bryant, 33, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to two years of supervised release to include six months of home detention and restitution of $8,062.19 after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of conspiracy to defraud the United States and Social Security fraud. 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.
• Roy Cast, III, 31, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior District Judge James Moody to 51months’ imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Cast was convicted of attempted robbery while armed with a handgun of an Arby’s restaurant located in Merrillville, Indiana. The defendant was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. Law enforcement executed a federal search warrant on the defendant’s residence and recovered firearms, marijuana, and 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.