Man gets 63 years in prison for deadly cellphone cord attack
A New Castle man has been sentenced to 63 years in prison for using a cellphone cord to choke an acquaintance who died about eight months after the attack.
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Justices grant transfer in 2 fixed-sentence modification cases
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to hear argument in two cases with similar scenarios concerning the trial court’s ability to modify fixed-sentence plea agreements.
Murder conviction stands for man who beat toddler to death
A man convicted of beating a 2-year to death failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that his 65-year sentence should be reversed, concluding that the trial court did not misinterpret the terms of his plea agreement.
Man gets 29 years for post office pipe bomb addressed to lawyer
A man has been sentenced to 29 years in prison for sending a pipe bomb addressed to an attorney that exploded at a northwestern Indiana post office, injuring a worker.
Ex-Goodwill worker gets prison for recording bathroom videos at Fishers store
A former Goodwill employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for secretly recording bathroom videos of workers at a suburban Indianapolis store. Ritchie Hodges was given his punishment Thursday.
South Bend murder suspect convicted after dying in jail
A judge has convicted a man who died in jail after he pleaded guilty to murder in the 1988 beating death of a pregnant South Bend woman.
Plea set in Parke County crash that killed ex-Indiana sheriff, wife
A judge has set a plea hearing for a man accused in a drunken driving crash that killed a former western Indiana sheriff and his wife. Bryan Robertson’s jury trial was scheduled for April 8 on charges of driving while intoxicated causing death, but a Parke County judge set an April 11 change of plea and sentencing hearing Tuesday for Robertson at his attorney’s request.
Hobart ex-funeral home treasurer gets probation for misused funds
A former treasurer of a defunct northwestern Indiana funeral home who allegedly misused funds set aside for customers’ funerals has been placed on probation for a year and ordered to pay more than $15,000 in restitution. Jacqueline A. Kraft, 68, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of theft and was sentenced to a year in jail, but that sentence was suspended.
Anderson man gets probation in Indiana voter registration fraud case
A central Indiana man has been sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty to 30 misdemeanor counts of voter registration fraud stemming from allegations before the 2018 primary election. Datwaon Collier of Anderson entered the pleas Friday in Madison Circuit Court Division 6 in an agreement with Madison County prosecutors.
Reversal: Pre-trial home detainees entitled to credit time
A man previously denied earned credit time against his sentence received good news Friday when an appellate court reversed, finding he was wrongly denied his request. The court held pre-trial home detainees entitled to accrued time credit.
Fort Wayne woman pleads guilty in hammer attack on ex-husband
A northeastern Indiana woman accused of placing a plastic bag over her ex-husband’s head and beating him with a hammer is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to attempted murder.
Terre Haute man pleads guilty to shooting death of teen
Terre Haute man has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the shooting death of a high school student during a party. Nathan Derickson, who was 19 at the time of the shooting of 17-year-old William Garett Sands last March 28, agreed to a plea deal Tuesday that caps his sentence at 10 years.
Waived appellate rights enforceable despite unusual waiver language, 7th Circuit rules
A man who explicitly waived his right to appeal his decade-long sentence was denied his appeal of that sentence Monday when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals determined the waiver of his appellate rights was valid despite the “unusual” language of his plea agreement.
Man pleads guilty in chase that led to Indiana officer death
A man who authorities say started a southern Indiana police chase that led to an officer’s death is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in the case.
Man pleads guilty to 2 murder counts in 1998 triple-murder
A northern Indiana man has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder on the same day jury selection was set to begin in his third trial in a triple-murder case.
Indiana man gets life for sexually exploiting 3 children
Federal prosecutors in Indiana say a man has received a life sentence for sexually exploiting three children, including a young girl in Ireland. U.S. prosecutors said Thursday that 37-year-old Ricky Dean Clark was sentenced to a life term without a chance for parole for offenses involving sexual exploitation, coercion and enticement of a child and child pornography.
Indiana man who withheld HIV status pleads guilty again
A northern Indiana man has pleaded guilty in a third county to having sex with women and not telling them he was HIV-positive. Travis Spoor, 39, of Silver Lake, pleaded guilty Monday in St. Joseph County to malicious mischief.
Decatur lawyer sentenced to jail for forgery, counterfeiting
A suspended northern Indiana lawyer was sentenced Friday to nearly nine months in jail for forging a judge’s signature on a phony divorce order and sending a client a bogus email that she represented as coming from a deputy prosecutor. Jill Holtzclaw of Decatur was sentenced to serve 270 days behind bars followed by a year of probation for her convictions of Level 6 felony counts of forgery and counterfeiting.
Tow operator pleads guilty to bribing Portage mayor
A northwestern Indiana towing operator has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge alleging he paid a mayor $12,000 for a towing contract. John Cortina, 79, of Kustom Auto Body in Portage entered the plea Friday, three days before the public corruption trial of Republican Portage Mayor James Snyder is set to begin.
Assault charge filed against LaPorte woman in plane incident
An Indiana woman accused of attacking a Delta Air Lines crew is moving toward a guilty plea in Detroit federal court. In a new court filing, Camille Krueger of LaPorte is charged with head-butting and spitting on federal officers who were removing her from a Germany-to-Detroit flight last January.