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Archive for the ‘INDIANA’ Category
Mitchell Indiana Police Chief Jim Richardson Suspended After Failing To Complete Required Training
July 3rd, 2008
MITCHELL, INDIANA — The Mitchell Police Department is short one more officer today with the suspension of Chief Jim Richardson.
Mayor Dan Terrell sad Richardson was suspended without pay effective Tuesday morning.
At issue is a required set of training sessions.
Richardson, a former Indiana State Police officer, retired from full-time police work in 1999. Terrell originally planned to name him safety director, a new position that was met with opposition in the city. He then named Richardson police chief, but Richardson had to finish required training by July 1.
Initially, that meant a second round through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. But this spring the Indiana Legislature changed the law, Richardson said, so that he had to complete 120 hours of training.
“He had to have that done by today,” Terrell said Tuesday, “and he did not. … He knew he had to have it, and he didn’t get it done.
Read Moreindianapolis Indiana Narcotics Police Officer Jason Barber Released From Jail After Judge Sets Tiny Bond - Charged With Selling A Gun To A Felon During Sting Operation And Official Misconduct
July 3rd, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - A suspended Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer was released from jail today after a judge granted his request for reduced bond, his attorney said.
Jason Barber, 31, faces charges of selling a handgun to a felon and official misconduct in Marion Superior Court. The narcotics officer, now suspended without pay, is one of four IMPD officers to face charges in two separate cases in recent weeks. He is accused of selling the gun to a confidential informant during a sting.
During a hearing this morning, Judge William Young reduced Barber’s bond to $5,000 from $100,000. That means his family will have to pay $500.
Lawrence Brodeur, chief of the Marion County prosecutor’s narcotics and guns division, said the amount of the new bond did not surprise him based on the charges and Barber’s lack of a criminal history.
Read MoreFederal Trial Delayed For Former South Bend Indiana Police Officer Jamie Buford, FOrmer St. Joseph County Officers Andrew Taghon And Ryan Huston In Police Corruption Case
July 2nd, 2008
HAMMOND, INDIANA — A new trial date has been set for three former Michiana law enforcement officers charged in a police corruption case.
Former South Bend police office Jamie Buford and former St. Joseph County officers Andrew Taghon and Ryan Huston are scheduled now for a two-week jury trial beginning Feb. 2 in federal court in Hammond.
The trial originally had been set to begin Sept. 8, but was postponed by Judge Philip P. Simon, in part, because Huston hired an additional attorney to assist in his defense.
The three ex-officers are charged in a federal indictment that accuses them of using their positions and skills as police officers to commit wire fraud by selling stolen property for which money was transferred electronically to bank accounts. Other charges involve illegal sales of drugs and guns.
All three men have denied the charges and are free on unsecured bonds awaiting trial.
Read MoreFormer Lake County Indiana Deputy Prosecutor Michael Haughee Remains Behind Bars, Unable To Convince Judge To Toss His Sexual Assault Conviction
July 1st, 2008
VALPARAIS, INDIANA - Former Hebron Town Council President Michael Haughee, who has served as a Lake County deputy prosecutor, failed Tuesday to convince a judge to throw out his sexual assault conviction.
Haughee, who is currently serving a one-year term at the county jail, argued in part that the woman accusing him of the attack was under the influence of 26 different prescription medications when she testified against him.
The list of medications, he said, included OxyContin, Xanax, Zoloft and Thorazine.
“I’ve been falsely imprisoned for 114 days as of today,” Haughee told Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper.
Haughee was convicted by a jury in January on felony counts of sexual battery and criminal confinement and a misdemeanor count of interference with the reporting of a crime.
Read MoreDozens Of Criminal Cases Collapse After 4 Indianapolis Indiana Police Officers Are Arrested - Many Previous Convictions Could Be Overturned On Appeal
July 1st, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - The arrests of four Indianapolis police officers are forcing the dismissals of more than two dozen pending cases and could cause drug-crime convictions in other cases to be overturned on appeal, prosecutors said Monday.
As of today, the Marion County prosecutor’s office expects to have dismissed 20 cases investigated by former narcotics officers Robert Long and Jason Edwards, officials said.
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“These officers were in this court several weeks ago testifying against defendants,” Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said Monday. “Now they are defendants.”
Deputy Prosecutor Lawrence Brodeur, the chief of narcotics and gun cases, said he was evaluating 12 other cases and would consider the effect on even more in coming days.
Long, Edwards and former patrol officer James Davis are accused of stealing cash and marijuana from drug dealers. A sweeping FBI investigation used wiretaps and other surveillance methods to track the three officers committing crimes, according to a federal indictment.
Read MoreFormer Frederick County Maryland Sheriff’s Corrections Officer Mark A. Baziuk Gets A Tiny Slap On The Wrist After Exposing Himself And Jerking Off For Shoppers At Target Store - Caught On Video
June 28th, 2008
FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND - A former correctional officer who earlier pleaded guilty to indecent exposure was granted probation before judgment Wednesday in Frederick County District Court.
Probation before judgment is not a conviction.
Mark A. Baziuk, 31, formerly of Frederick, has complied with counseling and treatment since entering his guilty plea March 25, defense attorney Alan L. Winik said.
On Feb. 7, after his arrest in January at the Target store on Urbana Pike, Baziuk resigned from his job with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Cpl. Jennifer Bailey said.
A Target employee called police the afternoon of Jan. 26 after seeing Baziuk exposing himself in his truck as customers walked by in the store’s parking lot.
Read MoreVetern Indianapolis Indiana Police Officer Jason S. Barber Arrested, Charged After Selling A Handgun To A Felon - 4th IMPD Officer To Face Felony Charges In 2 Weeks
June 28th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - A narcotics investigator with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was arrested and charged with two felonies Friday, accused of selling a handgun to a convicted burglar.
Eight-year veteran Jason S. Barber, 32, was the fourth Indianapolis police officer and the third narcotics officer in the department to be arrested on felony charges in the past two weeks. There are 16 officers in the narcotics unit.
Police say Barber’s alleged crime was not connected with the federal investigation that landed former narcotics officers Jason P. Edwards and Robert B. Long in jail June 16.
Public Safety Director Scott Newman said he felt “intense disappointment” but was not surprised by the recent arrests.
“With a department as large as ours, I’d be very surprised if we didn’t have some people who turned out to be crooks,” Newman said.
Department officials are rooting out the bad officers in their ranks, he said.
Read MoreVeteran Elkhart Indiana Police Officer Christopher Paciorkowski Arrested, Suspended, Charged With Felony Domestic Battery After Attack On His Fiancé
June 26th, 2008
ELKHART, INDIANA - A five-year veteran of the Elkhart Police Department has been arrested for felony domestic battery and interference with reporting a crime.
Police were called to a home on Elkhart’s north side about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday. There a woman told the officers she wanted to file battery charges against her fiancé, 40-year-old Christopher Paciorkowski, for pushing her.
Because Paciorkowski is an Elkhart police officer, officers requested the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department handle the complaint.
The Sheriff’s Department determined there was enough probable cause to arrest Paciorkowski for felony domestic battery and interference with reporting a crime. He was booked into the Elkhart County Jail.
Paciorkowski was placed on administrative leave according to the Elkhart Police Department.
Monroe County Indiana Deputy Sheriff Beverly McKnight And Daughter Under Investigation For Battery
June 21st, 2008
MONROE COUNTY, INDIANA - Indiana State Police are investigating a reported battery complaint involving an off-duty Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
The incident occurred last Thursday in a subdivision north of the city. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the call, but because it involved a deputy, the Indiana State Police were called to investigate.
According to the Indiana State Police report, the three people involved in the incident include Janet Musgrave, deputy Beverly McKnight and McKnight’s teenage daughter. The sheriff’s office was called to investigate an incident in which all three people alleged they had been struck or injured. Their stories differed as to who injured whom and how the incident started.
Monroe County deputy prosecutor Bob Miller said the differing stories will be considered before any charges are filed.
Miller expected a decision later this week or early next week.
Read MoreGary Indiana Fireman Capt. Marvin Brown, Fomer Union President, Suspended For 10 Days After Not Dispatching Firetruck 7 Blocks To Medical Call Involving A 4 Year Old Girl
June 20th, 2008
GARY, INDIANA ― Capt. Marvin Brown, former president of the Gary firefighters local, will serve a 10-day unpaid suspension for refusing to respond to a medical call in January.
The Gary Fire Civil Service Commission issued the punishment at its meeting Thursday. The board made the ruling after hearing testimony about the Jan. 23 incident at two prior sessions.
Brown was in charge of Station 5, located at 4101 Washington St., when an engine was dispatched to a home seven blocks away for a call of a 4-year-old girl with a stomach ache.
The fire department’s ambulances often run from call to call for hours at a time and dispatchers routinely send trucks or engine companies as first responders to medical calls.
Brown believed the call was not serious enough to take an engine out of service, hearing testimony revealed.
Read MoreJailed Indianapolis Indiana Police Officers Robert B. Long, Jason P. Edwards, And James Davis Quit Before Being Fired - Each Faces Federal Drug Charges
June 20th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Three Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers who are facing federal drug charges resigned Thursday.
The resignations came after the officers — Robert B. Long, Jason P. Edwards and James Davis — met with police commanders at the Marion County Jail, where they are being held after their arrests Monday.
After Deputy Chief William Benjamin and Maj. Lincoln Plowman, both from the investigations branch, told the three officers they were being suspended without pay and that the department was beginning the process to fire them, the three officers handed hand-written resignations to the commanders, said Sgt. Paul Thompson, spokesman for IMPD.
“They were presented with the intent to terminate them, and they decided to quit,” said Thompson.
Police Chief Michael Spears had said he wanted to move the termination process against the officers forward as quickly as possible, Thompson said.
Read MoreGary Indiana Police Officer Parnell Jordan Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement - Special Plea Deal In Place?
June 19th, 2008
HAMMOND, INDIANA - A Gary Police Department reserve officer pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzlment related to his after-hours security job at a public housing complex.
Parnell Jordan signed a plea agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Hammond Thursday in which he admits embezzling money in a ghost payrolling scheme involving Trillium Properties LLC, a publicly subsidized housing complex.
Jordan collected more than $5,000 in checks from Trillium between 2005 and 2007 without working the hours for which he was paid, court records state.
Jordan was working as a courtesy patrol officer for an undisclosed Trillium housing development, and at the same time was employed as an off-duty security officer for the Gary Housing Authority.
Parnell Jordan
5325 ADAMS ST.
MERRILLVILLE, IN 46410
Ivy Tech Community College
| Legal Name: | Parnell Jordan |
| Email: | pjordan@ivytech.edu |
| Phone: | 219-392-3600 ext. 222 |
Perry Township Indiana Constable Roy Houchins And Former Deputy Michael Steven Sherfick Charged In Racketeering Scheme After 1 Year Investigation
June 18th, 2008
PERRY TOWNSHIP, INDIANA - The Perry Township constable and a former deputy ran their office as an enterprise that thrived on theft, forgery and official misconduct, according to charging documents filed by a special prosecutor.
The racketeering case against Constable Roy Houchins follows a yearlong investigation by a State Police detective and the special prosecutor.
Houchins, 69, a Republican elected Perry Township constable in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, would become ineligible for office if convicted of a felony. Conviction on the most serious charges could mean up to eight years in prison.
Special Prosecutor Barry Brown said he was most troubled by “the fact we have public officials who have transgressed and in doing so have lost the confidence of the public they’re elected to serve.
“In my view, it’s very serious.”
Read MoreMichigan City Indiana Battalion Fire Chief Under Investigation After Noose Incident
June 18th, 2008
MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA - The fire department in Michigan City, Ind., is investigating whether a white firefighter hung a noose made of a fire hose over the head of a black firefighter.
CBS 2 Northwest Indiana Bureau Chief Pamela Jones reports that news of the alleged incident has stirred strong emotions.
Mike Rivera with the LaPorte County chapter of the NAACP, said “It’s just a very dirty, nasty feeling that just the sight of it, not to mention it being held over your head, can really trigger a lot of animosity.”
But that’s exactly what a black Michigan City firefighter said happened to him on June 10. The 30-year veteran complained that during a training exercise, a battalion chief held a noose made of a fire hose over his head.
Read MoreIndianapolis Indiana Police Officers Crash Patrol Motorcycles Into Each Other While Escorting Funeral Procession
June 13th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Two motorcycle escort officers were involved in a wreck on Indianapolis’ north side late Monday morning.
The collision happened in the 7700 block of Allisonville Road at about 11 a.m.
The officers were escorting a funeral procession when they ran into each other. Police said one of the officers had stopped but the other did not.
The injuries to the officers were not believed to be serious but they were taken to a hospital. Appeared Here
Autopsy On Man Killed By Knox County Deputy Sheriff With Taser Weapon And Mace “Inconclusive” - Killed For Being Disorderly
June 10th, 2008
KNOX COUNTY, INDIANA - An autopsy on a Knox County inmate who died shortly after being stunned with a Taser was inconclusive, Indiana State Police officials said today.
[BCN: Submitted info indicates the man was beaten, maced, hog-tied, and shot with a taser weapon.]
“We still don’t know the cause of death,” said Indiana State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle. “And most likely we won’t know until we get the toxicology report back, which could take two to three weeks.”
Quintrell T. Brannon, 25, died Sunday night about 40 minutes after a Knox County Sheriff’s deputy used the Taser on him. Officials said Brannon was being disorderly and resisting arrest, prompting them first to use mace and then the Taser to subdue him.
A jailer noticed he was not breathing and Brannon was then taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes, where he was pronounced dead.
Read MoreNutcase Aurora Indiana Police Officer Jared Dausch “Officer Of The Year” Arrested, Suspended, Charged After Breaking Into A Home, Beating His Fiancee And Another Woman, And Drunk Driving - Resident, A Victim Of Officer’s Threats: Dausch Was On “Some Kind Of Power Trip…Thinks He Can Shove Other People Around…” - Previously Investigated For Beating His Pregnant Girlfriend
May 28th, 2008
AURORA, INDIANA - A police officer finds himself on the other side of the law this weekend. Aurora, Indiana Officer Jared Dausch is charged with beating two women and driving drunk. Indiana state police say more charges could follow. Local 12’s Lauren Bercarich has more details on what people in the community are saying.
Several residents say they’re not surprised. State police say a fight with officer Dausch’s fiancee, Christina Good, spiraled out of control Saturday night when he hit Good and her friend. Later they say Dausch broke into a home where the two women went for safety. Not long after that, Dausch was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving.
Dausch is charged with drunk driving and domestic battery. In the quaint river town of Aurora, Indiana, the news shocked most residents. But it wasn’t a surprise to Michael Whiteford. He says he’s had run-ins with Officer Dausch before.
Read MorePolice Departments Forced To Cut Back On Fuel Use, Some Officers Fintally Have To Get Their Fat Asses Out Of Their Cars And Walk
May 23rd, 2008
NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA - With gasoline climbing toward $4 a gallon, police officers around the country are losing the right to take their patrol cars home and are being forced to double up in cruisers and walk the beat more.
The gas crunch could also put an end to the time-honored way cops leave their engines running when they get out to investigate something.
Some police chiefs think the moneysaving measures are not all bad, and might actually help them do a better job. But they worry about the loss of take-home cars, saying the sight of a cruiser parked in a driveway or out in front of a home deters neighborhood crime.
In Newberry, population 10,000, Chief Jackie Swindler is telling his officers to turn off the ignition whenever they are stopped for more than a minute or so, and to get out and walk around more.
Read MoreIndianapolis Indiana Police Officers Under Investigation After New Crew Videotapes Them Beating Man On The Ground
May 15th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - An early morning chase today ended with a man being Tasered and kicked by police officers who said he was resisting arrest and trying to escape.
A WTHR (Channel 13) helicopter took video of officers kicking Felipe Alvarado, 26, at least five times as he was on the ground. In the end, Officer Jason Scott appears to shove Alvarado’s head down with his foot.
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Supervisors will review Scott’s actions, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Matthew Mount said.
“It has to be looked at,” he said, “to determine whether excessive force was used in pushing the head back down with his foot.”
Mount added that the use of force was justified because Alvarado appeared to be reaching for a knife that officers saw him carrying in his pants.
Court records show Alvarado was involved in a police chase in 2004 and has been charged with battery on a police officer in Hancock County.
Read MoreVeteran Clarksville Indiana Police Officer Franklin Mikel Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Dealing Drugs At His Roller Rink
May 12th, 2008
CLARKSVILLE, INDIANA - A former Clarksville police officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for dealing drugs.
Thirty-five-year-old Franklin Mikel was sentenced Thursday under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors. He admitted selling morphine pills to a police informant three times in March and April last year at the Greentree Skateland roller rink he owned in Clarksville.
Mikel was a candidate for town judge at the time he was arrested. The 8-year veteran officer was suspended from the force and later left the department.
His attorney says Mikel has already entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
The prosecutor said he thought that prison time was appropriate for Mikel.
Janitor Found Guilty Of “Racial Harassment” By Ignorant Affirmative-Action Judge For Reading Anti-KKK Public Library Book On Indiana Purdue University Campus
May 9th, 2008
INDIANA - In November, I was found guilty of “racial harassment” for reading a public-library book on a university campus.
The book was Todd Tucker’s “Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan”; I was reading it on break from my campus job as a janitor. The same book is in the university library.
Tucker recounts events of 1924, when the loathsome Klan was a dominant force in Indiana - until it went to South Bend to taunt the Irish Catholic students at the University of Notre Dame.
When the KKK tried to rally, the students confronted them. They stole Klan robes and destroyed their crosses, driving the KKK out of town in a downpour.
I read the historic encounter and imagined myself with these brave Irish Catholics, as they street-fought the Klan. (I’m part-Irish, and was raised Catholic.)
Read MoreIndiana Department Of Corrections Officer Roy Dicus Busted With Meth Lab And Drugs In His Home
April 27th, 2008
PLAINFIELD, INDIANA - A correctional officer was arrested Sunday after investigators found a meth lab in his garage.
Detectives with the Indiana State Police Methamphetamine Suppression Section found the lab in the garage of Officer Roy Dicus Sunday afternoon, along with other drugs inside his residence. He is preliminarily charged with three felony counts in connection with the investigation.
The Department of Correction immediately suspended Dicus, who works at the Reception-Diagnostic Center, without pay pending the outcome of the charges.
“While I am saddened to hear about the arrest of one of our officers, the Department of Correction takes allegations of this nature very seriously and we will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation,” said Department of Correction Commissioner J. David Donahue.
Appeared Here
Gary Indiana Police Officer Gpl. Steven Andrus Charged With Drive-By Shooting
April 27th, 2008
VALPARAISO, INDIANA - A Gary police officer has been charged in the March 18 drive-by shooting on Cooley Street in Portage, which followed a fight on St. Patrick’s Day at a Hobart bar.
Gary police Cpl. Steven Andrus was charged in Porter County on Thursday with two counts of criminal recklessness, a Class C felony.
Nobody was injured in the shooting, which occurred at 4 a.m. March 18 in the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Cooley Street on Portage’s west side.
According to court documents, the Cooley Street resident was at Cagne’s Bar in Hobart, where he, his brother and stepbrother were confronted by another group of men. A fight broke out, then the three men left.
Read MorePendleton Correctional Facility Indiana Prison Guard Tracy McGrady Arrested With 3.2 Pounds Of Marijuana, Hid Drugs In Frozen Food To Smuggle Them Into Prison
April 16th, 2008
INDIANA - A Pendleton corrections officer is still in jail after being arrested last night by Indiana State Police.
Tracy McGrady was arrested at the Fortville CVS. Police found a total 3.2 pounds of Marijuana in McGrady’s car and house. Police estimate the prison value of the drugs is around $20,000. McGrady has been an employee at the Pendleton Correctional Facility since 2003.
Police say McGrady hid the drugs in containers of frozen food in order to smuggle them into the prison.
Police got a tip from another employee inside the prison and set up a meeting with McGrady.
“It maybe stopped a guard from getting stabbed or assaulted because now they won’t fight or dispute over somebody not giving them dope or money because we got their dope and money,” Indiana State Police Detective Bob May said.
Read MoreLawrence County Indiana Jail Matron Shauna Hawkins Convicted Of Sexual Misconduct After Giving Inmate BJ’s
April 12th, 2008
BEDFORD, IN - A former jail matron has been convicted of sexual misconduct for allegedly having sexual relations with an inmate at the Lawrence County Jail.
A Lawrence County jury found Shauna Hawkins, 33, guilty of sexual misconduct by a service provider on Thursday night after deliberating for about two hours
Defense attorney Stephen Oliver said Hawkins had no comment on the verdict.
“We’re disappointed, not happy,” Oliver said. “We’ll see where it goes from here.”
Lawrence County Prosecutor Michelle Woodward said the Hawkins could remain free on the initial bond until her sentencing hearing, the date of which has not been set.
Woodward said the case was difficult because it involved a sex crime with a witness who is a jailed inmate. That resulted in the testimony from both jail officers and inmates.
Read MoreMuncie Indiana Police Officer Jaime L. Howell Suspended Amid Investigation Into Her Throwing Rocks At Estranged Police Officer Husband’s Girlfriend’s Car
April 12th, 2008
MUNCIE, IN - A police officer was placed on paid administrative leave amid accusations that she threw rocks at a car owned by her estranged husband’s girlfriend.
An investigation into the incident involving Jaime L. Howell, 31, should be completed next week, Police Chief Deborah Davis said Thursday.
Howell’s estranged husband, Richard Howell Jr., who’s also a Muncie police officer, responded to the call Monday night near his apartment.
A woman called police to report that Jaime Howell was in a minivan with her children, throwing rocks at her car and trying to break into the apartment.
No arrests were made. Jaime Howell, who has been a Muncie police officer since 2003, was off-duty at the time. She told officers she was dropping her children off at the apartment when she found the woman there.
Read MoreBall State University Indiana Spends $1.3 Million Defending Former Police Officer Robert Duplain After Shooting And Killing Unarmed Student
April 11th, 2008
MUNCIE, IN — Ball State University has spent nearly $1.3 million so far successfully defending ex-police officer Robert Duplain, and the excessive-force complaint against him still isn’t fully resolved.
After a two-week civil trial, a federal court jury on Feb. 4 found Duplain not liable for the 2003 shooting death of BSU senior Michael McKinney.
But attorneys for Timothy McKinney, who represents his son’s estate, have filed a motion for a new trial, the first step toward an appeal.
Since the lawsuit was filed four years ago, Ball State has spent $1,296,638 to defend Duplain, and that includes expenses only through Jan. 31, which don’t include the last two days of the trial.
“These expenses are being submitted as a claim to our insurance company, which we expect will cover all but our deductible — $100,000,” said university spokesman Tony Proudfoot.
Read More15 And 18 Year Old Female Inmates Report Sexual Contact With Indiana Juvenile Corrections Officer
April 11th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Authorities are investigating allegations by two teenage female inmates at the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility that they had sexual contact with a male officer.
A spokeswoman for the facility says the officer has been suspended while Indiana State Police investigate. His name was not released.
The two girls, ages 15 and 18, were taken to the facility’s infirmary and transferred to area hospitals for further examinations.
According to the news release, the girls told police they were assigned to the officer’s cleaning detail on Saturday and later had sexual contact with him.
Child Protective Services also has been notified.
Appeared Here
Former Indianapolis Indiana Police Officer Noble Duke Pleads Guilty After Tipping Off As Many As 15 Druggies Before Raid
April 9th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - A former Indianapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to tipping off as many as 15 drug suspects about a raid last year was acting alone, a federal official said Monday.
Noble Duke, 39, Indianapolis, pleaded guilty Friday to unlawfully disclosing the contents of federally authorized wiretaps with the intent to obstruct or impede a criminal investigation.
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Duke, who resigned from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department last month, faces a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker will sentence Duke within about 70 days, said Timothy M. Morrison, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. He said Duke is free on pretrial release. Attempts to reach Duke for comment were unsuccessful.
Read MoreMassive Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Private Marion County Indiana Jail
April 9th, 2008
MARION COUNTY, IN - A civil rights complaint and a lawsuit filed Wednesday by inmates raise questions about medical care, safety and the grievance system at a privately run Marion County jail.
The allegations about Jail II have come less than a year after the county closed more than 30 years of court oversight because of crowding at the main lockup. Jail II — touted by officials as one of the best jails in Indiana — opened in 1997 to relieve pressure on the Marion County Jail.
But this week, an advocacy group that has collected written complaints from about a dozen inmates asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the facility.
And the class-action lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on behalf of five inmates, seeks a judge’s order to cancel the county’s contract with Corrections Corporation of America.
Read MoreGary Indiana Police Officer Cpl. Steven Andrus Named As Suspect In Drive By Shooting, 4 Other Current Or Former Officers Are Also Suspects
April 5th, 2008
GARY, IN - A Gary police officer named as a suspect in a drive-by shooting has been suspended and has turned in his gun, badge and radio.
Corporal Steven Andrus will remain on paid suspension during the investigation.
Andrus and at least four other current or former Gary officers are suspects in the March 18th drive-by at house in Portage.
Portage police say that the shooting occurred hours after Andrus and the others got into a fight outside a bar in Hobart. Police allege the four had been drinking as they celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.
Portage investigators recovered numerous spent shells and some were linked to Andrus’ duty weapon.
There was no telephone listing for Andrus in the Hobart area.
Davies County Indiana Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Kenny Riley Suspended After Domestic Violence Incident, Court Security Officer Gordon Hagan Arrested, Charged With Drunk Driving While Picking Up Riley
April 2nd, 2008
DAVIESS COUNTY, IN - Both a Daviess County Sheriff’s Deputy and a Daviess County Court security officer have been suspended.
The Daviess County Sheriff’s Department said 41-year-old Sergeant Kenny Riley is charged with assault and domestic violence after a reported altercation with his girlfriend.
The court security officer, Gordon Hagan, 50, is charged with DUI after allegedly driving to pick up Sergeant Riley from his home. Authorities said both have been suspended pending an internal investigation.
Indiana University Police Officer Robert Botts Placed On Restricted Duty After Being Linked To Indianapolis Armed Robbery
April 2nd, 2008
INDIANA - An Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis police officer was placed on administrative duty after he was involved in a possible armed robbery on the Westside during the weekend.
Robert Botts, 28, will be on desk duty, IUPUI police Capt. Bill Abston said today, while the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigates a robbery in which a racing engine was reportedly stolen from Snyder Enterprise, 50 Gasoline Alley.
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Charles Snyder, 59, told police Botts was with William Throckmorton, two other men and a 16-year-old girl about 1:15 p.m. Sunday when Throckmorton came to the garage and told Snyder he was taking an engine that Snyder had been working on for Throckmorton, according to a police report.
Snyder refused to let them take the engine because Throckmorton still owed about $6,200 for parts and labor, according to the report. Throckmorton, 40, Coatsville, told police he had already paid Snyder for the work.
Read MoreIndianapolis Indiana Police Officer Adam Chappell Gets A Special Plea Deal And Tiny Slap On The Wrist After Being Caught On Video Beating Teen
April 2nd, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - A police officer accused of striking a 17-year-old boy during Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration last year likely will avoid prosecution by undergoing training on the proper use of force.
The announcement today of the diversion agreement in Adam Chappell’s case drew criticism from the boy’s family and at least one church leader. The Rev. Charles Harrison, pastor of Barnes United Methodist on the Near Northside, had lauded the tough stance of Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department after the July incident was caught on video.
“I think there is going to be some disappointment within the African-American community about the outcome,” Harrison said today. “I think they’re going to look to see what happens within the department as far as what their discipline is going to be.”
Read MoreFormer Muncie Indiana Police Officer Jason Lyons Receives A Slap On The Wrist After Crashing Patrol Car Full Of College Girls While Showing Off
April 1st, 2008
MUNCIE, IN - A former Muncie policeman is getting a 1-year suspended sentence after crashing a squad car carrying three female college student passengers.
Jason Lyons pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and interference with reporting a crime as part of an agreement with prosecutors. He resigned after the August 28th crash.
Defense attorney Kelly Bryan says the terms are standard for a defendant with no previous record. He says Lyons losing his job was taken into consideration.
Police say the 6-year department veteran drove as fast as 70 miles per hour after agreeing to give the Ball State University students a ride back to their dorms from a convenience store. Witnesses said they heard Lyons tell the students to leave the area after hitting a curb and crashing.
Elsewhere:
Read MoreGary Indiana Police Officer Jeffery Patrick Loses Patrol Car To Mentally Ill Man
March 24th, 2008
GARY, IN - A man who asked a Gary police officer for a ride to a bus station Friday afternoon ended up stealing his squad car and leading police on a chase through a brief snowstorm on the Indiana Toll Road.
As Gary and Indiana State police pursued the man, identified as Danny Ware, 39, of Winkelman, Ariz., Sgt. Martinez Newman pleaded over the stolen car’s radio for him to pull over.
“Please stop that car,” Newman was heard saying on police scanners. “Please stop that car before someone gets hurt.”
No injuries were reported by police and Ware was taken into custody after the car was stopped in LaPorte County.
The mayhem began after Cpl. Jeffery Patrick agreed to give Ware a ride from the city’s public safety building to the Adam Benjamin Metro Center.
Read MoreCharges Against Former Gary Indiana Police Chief Thomas Houston And Two Deputies For Beatings “Dent” City’s Image
March 22nd, 2008
GARY, INDIANA - Veteran officer Thomas Houston didn’t mince words when he took over as police chief in this violence-plagued city, promising to “implode” the department and make big changes, even if it went against public sentiment.
“I’m popular now,” he said last May. “I will trade that for respect.”
Less than a year later, Houston is out of a job. He and his top two deputies face federal civil rights charges accusing them of roughing up four people Houston suspected of breaking into his house last June.
Yet in this gritty Rust Belt city, corruption and a reputation as the nation’s murder capital are so entrenched that allegations laid out in March 5 indictments don’t even seem like a crime to some.
“Whether you’re a police officer or not, whether you are on duty or not, if somebody breaks into your house and you find out who did it, you’re going to want to get that person who did it,” resident Kimberly Martin, 27, said last week.
Read MoreIndicted Gary Indiana Police Chief Thomas Houston Quits - Charged With Beatings And Punching Pregnant Woman
March 16th, 2008
GARY, INDIANA – The police chief of Gary, Ind., retired Tuesday and two of his top aides were reassigned, less than a week after they were indicted on federal civil rights charges, the mayor said Tuesday.
Police Chief Thomas Houston is accused of assaulting two people he suspected of burglarizing his home last June and of having four people arrested and detained without probable cause.
Mayor Rudy Clay said the two men indicted with the chief, Deputy Chief Thomas Branson and Sgt. Thomas Decanter, have been reassigned to the homicide division with an emphasis on cold cases.
Branson and Decanter are accused of striking one of the suspects on the arm with a piece of wood. None of the four suspects was charged in the break-in.
Read MoreFormer Gary Indiana Police Chief Thomas Houston, Lt. Thomas Branson, And Sgt. Thomas Decanter Plead Not Guilty After Beatings And Illegally Holding People - Houston Also Charged With Punching Pregnant Woman In the Abdomen
March 16th, 2008
GARY, INDIANA - Former Gary Police Chief Thomas Houston and two of his top aides pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that they beat, harmed and illegally held people they suspected of breaking into Houston’s house.
Houston, Lt. Thomas Branson and Sgt. Thomas Decanter were allowed to remain free on $20,000 unsecured bonds pending their May 12 trials in the civil rights case, which was filed by the Department of Justice.
Houston was indicted March 5 on a charge that he entered the home of a pregnant Gary woman and punched her in the abdomen. He also is accused of striking and kicking a man.
Branson and Decanter were indicted on charges that they struck another man in the arm with a piece of wood. Houston also is accused of having the four arrested and jailed for three days without probable cause, while Branson faces one such count.
Read MoreFort Wayne Indiana Police Bomb Squad Saves Lawyers From Raw Turnip And Tissue Paper - Our Tax Dollars Hard At Work
March 14th, 2008
FORT WAYNE, INDIANA- A raw turnip was at the root of a bomb scare that last for hours at a law office.
An employee at Haller & Colvin Attorneys at Law called 911 Thursday after opening a U.S. Postal Service box and finding a suspicious gift bag inside, police said.
Officers then called the city’s bomb unit, which brought in a robot to carry the package outside to a parking lot. X-rays showed no signs of an explosive, but bomb technicians decided to detonate the package with a water cannon just to be safe, police spokesman Michael Joyner said.
After that, they opened the box and found the turnip, wrapped in lettuce-green tissue paper inside a sandwich bag.
It was unclear who was supposed to receive the vegetable.
Bogus New Year’s Day Murder Charges By Indianapolis Indiana Police To Be Dismissed, After New Ballistics Tests And Falsely Charged Man Was Jailed For 2 Months - Case Affects Charges Against Police Officer Shannon W. McComas
March 8th, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Marion County prosecutors said they plan to dismiss murder charges against a man they had accused in a fatal shooting early New Year’s Day outside a Far-Eastside bar.
The turn in the case hinges on new ballistics tests that show the deadly shot didn’t come from Sunungura “Go-Go” Rusununguko’s gun, said David Wyser, the prosecutor’s chief trial deputy. They will dismiss murder and aggravated battery charges and are working out an agreement in which Rusununguko, 29, would plead guilty to criminal recklessness for firing his gun in the air, Wyser said.
The low-level felony charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives are investigating the shooting outside Durty Nelly’s Eatery & Pub to determine the identity of the shooter, Wyser said. Ronnie Croom Jr., 30, a security officer for an event promoter, was killed.
Read MoreLake County Indiana Police Officer John H. Kitchen Suspended After Lying To Conceal His Role As Driver Who Caused Wreck Which Killed Another Officer
March 8th, 2008
CROWN POINT, INDIANA - A Lake County police officer is accused of lying last month to conceal he was the driver who caused the death of fellow Officer Eric N. Forster in a Feb. 23 fatal traffic accident.
Sheriff Rogelio “Roy” Dominguez said Thursday he has suspended police Officer John H. Kitchen and called in the Indiana State Police to join his department’s investigation and has turned over evidence to the Lake County prosecutor.
“It is clear from the investigation alcohol was involved,” Dominguez said.
County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said Thursday he is waiting for evidence from an autopsy of Forster before deciding whether or not to charge Kitchen.
Highland lawyer Sam Cappas, who represents Kitchen, said Thursday the police investigation is flawed. “No one gave Officer Kitchen an alcohol test. We contend he was not intoxicated. It is possible to drink and not be intoxicated.”
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