Week in Review—South Bend

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

Pleas:

• Leobardo Campos, 43, of LaPorte, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of conspiring to deliver a mixture or substance that contained cocaine. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• Oscar Arzate, 36, of LaPorte, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of distribution of a controlled substance which contained cocaine. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• Darrius D. Agnew, 34, of Mishawaka, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of receiving stolen firearms. Magistrate Nuechterlein is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.

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:

• Michael Alter, 61, of Logansport, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 210 months’ imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of receipt of child pornography. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Alter was in possession of child pornography in August 2006 and August 2011. In 2011, the images he possessed included pornographic images of prepubescent children and sadistic images of prepubescent children being sexually abused. Alter had prior convictions in Shelby County and Howard County for multiple counts of child molesting. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.
• Jeffrey Scott, 53, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 120 months’ imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of child pornography. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Scott was in possession of child pornography in November 2011. Scott had three prior convictions for child molesting, two in St. Joseph County in 1996 and 1998 and one in Marshall County in 2004. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.
• Daniel Tapia, 30, of Granger, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Robert Miller to 48 months’ imprisonment and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of child pornography. According to documents filed by the government in this case, Tapia was in possession of child pornography in August 2011. The images he possessed included pornographic images of prepubescent children and sadistic images of prepubescent children being sexually abused. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, South Bend Police Department, and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.