Week in Review—South Bend

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

Dispositions (before District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr.):

• Lawrence Tinsman, 67, of Plymouth, Indiana, was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment with five years of supervised release and to pay $500 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of distribution of material involving a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to documents filed in this case, in April 2013, Tinsman possessed a computer onto which he had downloaded, using a peer-to-peer file sharing program, numerous images and videos that depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Using this same file sharing system, Tinsman made the files available to be downloaded by other individuals seeking child pornography. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.
• Nora Guardiola, 36, of Sheldon, Illinois, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, with three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to the felony offense of knowingly and intentionally distributing cocaine. According to documents filed in this case, Guardiola was involved in delivering seven ounces of cocaine to the Kentland, Indiana area. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• William Speybroeck, 35, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment, two years of supervised release, a $3,000 fine, and to pay $9,250 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of knowingly possessing and/or disposing of stolen merchandise across state lines. According to documents filed in this case, in April 2013, Speybroeck shipped a piece of drilling equipment from South Bend, Indiana to Nebraska. Speybroek was aware the equipment was stolen. He was paid $9,000 via wire transfer. This case was the result of an investigation by the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
• Gary Franklin, 50, of Elkhart, Indiana, was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and to pay $42,500 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of knowingly and intentionally receiving, possessing, concealing, selling, or disposing of stolen vehicles that had crossed state lines after being stolen. According to documents filed in this case, in September 2012, law enforcement discovered an excavator on property Franklin was renting in Niles, Michigan. The excavator had been stolen from an Indiana job site and moved across state lines. Franklin was in possession of the stolen excavator and had reason to believe the excavator had crossed state lines after being stolen. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.