Week in Review—Hammond

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

Pleas:

• Mario Stokes, 41, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Sentencing has been set for May 23, 2014. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
•  Jose Arriaga, 44, of Merrillville, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Magistrate Cherry 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 the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.
•  Joiey Jones, 36, of East Chicago, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon 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 and the East Chicago Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas McGrath.

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:

•  Tonja Muldrow, 33, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 24 months of probation after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to documents filed in this case, Muldrow illegally possessed one firearm and traded it in to a firearms store in exchange for another firearm. Muldrow has a prior conviction for the felony offense of financial identity theft. This case was a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Michigan City Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.
•  Kevin Wilkerson, 39, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 108 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of the bank robbery of Peoples Bank in Gary. This case was a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Gary Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Berkowitz.
•  Mark Bozovich, 32, of Lake Village, Indiana, a defendant in the case U.S. v Humphrey et al, was sentenced by Senior District Judge Rudy Lozano to 235 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after being found guilty at trial of the felony offense of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute heroin. According to documents filed in this case, Bozovich, along with others, would drive to Illinois to get heroin from Cortez Humphrey and would then redistribute it upon returning to Indiana. This case was a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jacqueline Jacobs and Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
•  Lamar Johnson, 26, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 132 months’ imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent that she engage in prostitution. This case was a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.
•  Brealon Miller, Jr., 25, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 280 months of imprisonment with three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of the December 2012 armed bank robbery of BMO Harris Bank in Hammond and discharging and carrying a firearm in furtherance of an aggravated bank robbery. According to documents filed in this case, Miller shot a Hammond Police officer three times in his leg as he was leaving the bank after the robbery. David Lee Hardin, his co-defendant, was sentenced to 355 months’ imprisonment in September 2013. This case was a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force and the Hammond Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.