Articles

Lake Circuit asbestos abatement may alter proceedings

The main courtroom for Lake Circuit Court in Crown Point began a four-month asbestos abatement Monday that may change the location of some court dates, Circuit Judge Marissa McDermott announced in a letter to the bar. The courtroom — Room B-203 — will be under construction, which may affect the proceedings of the Lake Circuit and probate courts

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Family questions use of force in arrest of teen at festival

The family of a 15-year-old boy who was arrested at a festival in Hammond says officers used excessive force by restraining the teen on the ground and placing their knees on his back. Hammond police, however, say they did nothing wrong in arresting the boy Wednesday for disorderly conduct while breaking up a fight between two girls at the Festival of the Lakes.

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Pierogi festivals settle over trademark dispute

A northwestern Indiana city that hosts an annual festival built around a popular Polish delicacy has reached a settlement in its trademark dispute with a rival festival in Pennsylvania. Since 2014 the Edwardsville Hometown Committee has run the Pennsylvania festival dedicated to the potato-filled dumplings, abundant in a region whose coal mines drew Polish immigrants more than a century ago, while Whiting, Indiana, has hosted Pierogi Fest since 1995.

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Northern District flags at half-staff for late Judge Lozano

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana announced Friday that federal courthouses in Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette and South Bend would lower flags to half-staff through Monday in honor of the late Senior Judge Rudy Lozano, who died Wednesday at 76 years old.

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Federal Judge Rudy Lozano, ‘an institution,’ dies at 76

Rudy Lozano served on the federal bench for 30 years, making landmark rulings in a Hammond courtroom that his peers said was known for its collegiality. Before that, Lozano was a leading practitioner who helped unify the legal community in northwest Indiana.

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Justices appoint Lake Superior judge pro tempore

Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Kavadias Schneider will temporarily step down from her seat on the bench after informing the court she would be unable to perform the duties of her office. Serving in her place as judge pro tempore will be attorney Stephen A. Tyler.

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Crown Point couple charged with neglect after boy shoots self

A Crown Point couple has been charged with neglect after a young boy they were babysitting found a gun in a bedroom and fatally shot himself. Rachel Lynn Griffin, 24, and Brett A. Beatty, 29, were charged Tuesday in Lake Superior Court with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent related to the death of 4-year-old Eric Cole.

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Gary man facing death in slayings of wife, 2 kids loses PCR bid

A Gary man sentenced to death for killing his wife and two teenage stepchildren has lost his latest attempt to overturn his conviction – a post-conviction relief petition. Lake Superior Judge Samuel Cappas and Magistrate Judge Natalie Bokota determined in a ruling issued Friday that Kevin Isom of Gary failed to establish he had ineffective counsel at his murder trial or during the appeals process.

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Chicago man charged after Hammond fire killed 1, injured 2

A Chicago man faces murder and other charges in connection with an April 14 fire in Hammond that killed a woman and injured two others. Court records show 42-year-old Ronald Alan Gee also faces attempted murder and arson charges connected to the fire that killed 62-year-old Brenda Poole.

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Gary man wants review of conviction in Indiana officer’s death

A Gary man who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatally shooting a Gary police officer is asking a court to review his conviction. Twenty-nine-year-old Carl Le’Ellis Blount has filed a post-conviction relief petition alleging Lake County prosecutors threatened him to get him to plead guilty to murder in the 2014 shooting death of Gary Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield.

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