Week in Review—Hammond

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

Pleas:

• Hector Garcia, 35, of Cicero, Illinois, a defendant in the case U.S. v Vasquez et al., 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 September 18, 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 David Nozick.
• Deanbra Martin, 23, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Michigan City Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.
• Daniel Loy, 32, of South Haven, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of distribution of cocaine. Sentencing has been set for August 27, 2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
• Tamika Gayden, 32, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of making false statements in the purchase of a firearm. Sentencing has been set for September 12, 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 Dean Lanter.

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.

Disposition:

Moses Tarawali, 58, of Portage, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to three years of supervised release to include 36 months of home detention after pleading guilty to the felony offense of unlawful acts-controlled substance distribution by using a DEA registration number that he was not authorized to use, specifically, the DEA registration number for a hospital in Northwest Indiana, to prescribe a controlled substance to a patient. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.