A Bremen man was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to two years probation and ordered to pay $34,126.25 in restitution for 18 months worth of unemployment benefits. Court documents indicate Timothy Heckaman, 53, previously pleaded guilty to the felony offense of theft of government property. Continue reading
LaPorte Man Sentenced in Federal Court
A LaPorte man is heading to federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. David Diederich, 58, was sentenced last week to 3 years and 5 months in prison, one year of supervised release and fined $1,000. Court documents indicate Diederich possessed an Empire Ejector shotgun while in LaPorte County. He was convicted of a felony in 1976 in St. Joseph Superior Court.
Plymouth Man Sentenced on Federal Child Pornography Charges
A Plymouth man was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to seven years in federal prison with five years supervised release after previously pleading guilty to distribution of material involving a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Lawrence Tinsman, 67, was also fined $500 in restitution. Federal court records indicate Tinsman possessed a computer which contained numerous images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He downloaded the images through a peer-to-peer file sharing program, according to FBI agents, and also made the images available for download by other individuals seeking child pornography.
Bremen Man Sentenced in U.S. District Court
Walkerton Man Sentenced On Federal Firearms Charge
Hoosier EMS Defendant Pleads Guilty in Federal Court
A former employee of a private ambulance transportation service has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Kahley Vergon-Moyette, 28, of Monticello, is one of three Hoosier EMS employees accused of defrauding Medicare of more than $2 million. She was the general manager and operations manager of the Buffalo-based business. Court documents filed last November indicate the company submitted claims to Medicare between May of 2009 and May of 2012 for reimbursement of services that were never rendered. Hoosier EMS owner Roy Dunn and employee and former co-owner Anthony Bitterling, both of Winamac, are also charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Their cases are pending in U.S. District Court. Vergon-Moyette is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2014.
Demotte Woman Sentenced, Must Repay Victim over $1.4 Million
Senior District Judge James Moody sentenced Linda Lyrla, 58, to 46 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release on the charges. Lyrla was also ordered to pay restitution totaling a little more than $1.4 million to the victims and forfeiture of just under $1.4 million.
Plymouth Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Charge
A Plymouth man with a lengthy criminal history has pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge. Dale Hite, 27, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. His sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, July 25 in U.S. District Court in South Bend. Continue reading
Michigan City Man Sentenced on Federal Child Sex Charge
A Michigan City man who conned a 16-year-old New York girl into sending him sexually explicit pictures has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release. Court documents indicate that in April of 2012 46-year-old Brian Newman contacted the girl via Facebook, told her that her iPad had been hacked by a male she knew as Mark and had video of her dressing in her room. Newman told the girl she could get the videos back if she would Skype with him. He then reportedly asked her to engage in sexually explicit conduct and send him the videos. Several images sent by the girl were discovered on Newman’s computer when authorities executed a federal search warrant. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Two Locals Sentenced To Prison In U.S. District Court
Two area residents were sentenced in U.S. District Court this week.
Jason Buzzard, 34 of Plymouth, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison and four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Manufacture Methamphetamine. This case was the result of an investigation of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Indiana State Police, the Plymouth Police Department and the MSOS.
Oscar Ruelas-Sandoval, 26 of LaPorte, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to charges of Distribution of Cocaine, Distribution of Marijuana and Possession of a Firearm in the Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Leesburg Man Gets 15 Months In Prison For Manufacturing Marijuana
A Leesburg man was recently sentenced in U.S. District Court.
Eric Barker, 42, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of manufacturing marijuana.
Knox Man Pleads Guilty to Intent to View Child Pornography
A Knox man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last week to the felony offense of Accessing with the Intent to View Child Pornography.
In December 2011, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department investigated allegations that 41-year-old Jeffrey Farmer was involved in a child molestation incident and officers obtained a federal search warrant to search his computer. Agents discovered images depicting child pornography. Charges were brought about as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Office of Homeland Security Investigations, Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the Hammond Police Department.
Sentencing in this case has been set for Feb. 4, 2013.
LaPorte Bank Robber Sentenced To 6.5 Years in Prison
A man who robbed the LaPorte Savings Bank in April was recently sentenced in U.S. District Court.
David Ziesel of Elburn was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of Aggravated Bank Robbery.
Plymouth Woman Sentenced For Conspiracy To Manufacture Meth
A Plymouth woman was recently sentenced in U.S. District Court in South Bend after pleading guilty to the felony offense of Conspiracy to Manufacture Methamphetamine.
Shayla Montague, 20, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment in federal prison and four years of supervised release for the felony charge.
Two Hoosiers Sentenced In U.S. District Court
An Indiana woman was sentenced to 66 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of Theft of Mail and Aggravated Identity Theft. The case was heard in U.S. District Court in Hammond.
Tracey Davis, 39, admitted in a plea agreement that she possessed over 400 pieces of mail addressed to over 100 individuals and businesses located in Porter, LaPorte, Elkhart, Marshall, and Kosciusko Counties. She admitted that she stole the mail from several mailboxes and that the mail she stole contained bank statements, credit card bills, utility bills, house deeds, and various other types of letters. She stole the identities of those residents to purchase merchandise without the knowledge, authority, or permission of the victims. This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Service.
Jamie Deal, 33, of Westville, was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of Bank Robbery. Deal admitted that she stole money from DeMotte State Bank. Deal was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,014.
Two Appear for Hearings in U.S. District Court
A Demotte woman is facing two felony charges in U.S. District Court.
Linda Lyrla, 57, was before Senior Judge James T. Moody last week where she pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and tax evasion. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Wedow Pleads Guilty in U.S. District Court
George Wedow, 32, of Michigan City, Indiana, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in South Bend to felony charges of selling, delivering, possessing, training, receiving and transporting animals for the purpose of having the animals participate in an animal fighting venture. Sentencing has been set for June 14th, 2012. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Wedow was arrested January 13th at his residence at 5589 N. 600 W. in LaPorte County where a large dogfighting operation was found that involved 12 dogs and dogfighting equipment. Police also reportedly found 70 pounds of processed marijuana at the residence. Police also searched a Grovertown residence and found 19 more dogs.
Nathan VanDerAa to be Sentenced Friday
Nathan VanDerAa, of Star City, is expected to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in South Bend on Friday, March 23rd.
He was arrested on two separate occasions in 2011 on various drug charges and police found that he illegally possessed firearms. The Pulaski County Prosecutor filed charges but the ATF took over the investigation. On July 14th, 2011, a Federal Grand Jury in South Bend indicted VanDerAa with two counts of Unlawful User of Controlled Substances in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition and one count of Manufacture of a Controlled Substance.
Life Prison Term Sought for Former San Pierre Man
Federal prosecutors are asking for a life prison term for a man who pleaded guilty to making child pornography while living in San Pierre. A sentencing report was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Hammond.
Randall Fletcher, Jr. pleaded guilty in September of last year to taking pornographic pictures of a seven year old child in February 2002 in San Pierre. Before that, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder when he tried to have the mother of a 15-year-old girl he was having sex with killed. This was in 1995.
Sentencing Hearing Continued for Nathan VanDerAa
Nathan VanDerAa’s sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court has been continued to March. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for Friday, January 27th.
On June 3rd, 2011, VanDerAa was arrested on a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine after a traffic stop and a few days later, Starke County officers arrived at his home in Star City and found that he was in the presence of a meth lab, firearms and ammunition. Pulaski County Prosecutor Stacey Mrak filed methamphetamine related charges against him and the ATF was expected to file a federal charge for a firearm possession. Mrak recently dismissed the County’s charges against VanDerAa and they were transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Bend.
- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Next »
