Indiana man must pay $427K to victims in 2017 buggy crash
A northeastern Indiana man who pleaded guilty in a drunken-driving crash involving a horse-drawn carriage has been ordered to pay $427,000 in restitution to the crash victims.
Sentence
Articles
Unruly defendant rightly tossed from court, COA rules
A Montgomery County man thrown out of his own trial for disruptive conduct has failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that he was wrongly denied his right to be present. But the appellate panel did vacate one of the man’s convictions on double jeopardy grounds.
Man appeals convictions in double murder over Prada purse
A Fort Wayne man convicted of fatally shooting two people while trying to retrieve a luxury purse is appealing his convictions and 170-year sentence.
Justices let stand suppression in drug case, grant transfer in 2 others
Indiana Supreme Court justices agreed to hear two cases on grant of transfer last week, denying one other involving a faulty Muncie controlled drug buy. The three cases were the only matters justices considered on petition to transfer last week.
Constructive amendment error doesn’t warrant new trial, 7th Circuit rules
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a man’s life sentence after rejecting his request to vacate and receive a new trial on his firearm possession convictions based on a constructive amendment error in his indictment.
Appeals court trims sentence for Muncie man in bomb case
The Indiana Court of Appeals has overturned one of several convictions and trimmed the sentence for a central Indiana man who tried to kill his former girlfriend with a homemade bomb. The rulings in the case of 40-year-old Lionel Ray Mackey Jr. of Muncie will apparently reduce his prison term from 101 years to 94½ years.
4 from Indiana sentenced in $125,000 veteran funds fraud
Four southern Indiana residents have been sentenced after authorities say they pocketed more than $125,000 through fundraisers touted as benefiting veterans and their families. Federal prosecutors say James Linville was sentenced this week to 5 years in prison; Joanie Watson was sentenced to 3½ years, and; Thomas Johnson and Amy Bennett were sentenced to 3 years.
Justices affirm denial of parolee’s sentence modification
A man seeking to modify his already served sentence failed to convince the Indiana Supreme Court to accept his argument, though the high court rejected his position for a different reason than the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Report: Detective’s contact with USA Gymnastics not a breach
An internal Indianapolis police investigation has determined a detective didn’t violate department policies by working with USA Gymnastics’ former chief executive to deflect criticism of the organization’s child abuse reporting policies. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department conducted a months-long probe into the actions of Lt. Bruce Smith, an acquaintance of ex-USA Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny who formerly ran the department’s Child Abuse Unit.
Crime sentences, vaping tax up for Indiana lawmaker panels
Indiana lawmakers will be looking at prescription drug prices, crime sentences and taxes on vaping liquids in the coming months. Those are among the more than 40 topics that leaders have assigned to committees ahead of next year’s General Assembly session.
COA reverses habitual offender enhancement
A habitual offender enhancement for a man with multiple battery convictions has been reversed after the Indiana Court of Appeals concluded his out-of-state convictions could not support such an enhancement under Indiana law.
‘American Taliban’ John Walker Lindh to be released
John Walker Lindh, the young Californian who became known as the American Taliban after he was captured by U.S. forces in the invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, is set to go free from the Federal Correctional Institute in Terre Haute after nearly two decades in prison.
Carmel synagogue vandal who espoused Nazism gets 3 years for hate crime
A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti and lighting fires outside a Carmel synagogue. Witnesses said the man had openly advocated Nazism among friends and co-workers and had planned a larger attack.
Divided appeals court reduces child molester’s sentence
A divided Indiana Court of Appeals panel cut a child molester’s sentence in half after it concluded that the length of his sentence was inappropriate due to his dementia and incompetence, among other things.
Garrett man gets 80 years for trying to kill officers
A northeastern Indiana man has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for two counts of attempted murder for shooting at police.
Man gets 30 years in slaying of man buried beneath concrete
A central Indiana man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a slaying where the victim’s body was found buried beneath concrete.
Man gets 65 years for fatally shooting Fort Wayne clerk
A man has been sentenced to 65 years in prison for fatally shooting a Fort Wayne gas station clerk and stealing a carton of cigarettes.
ACLU report highlights Indiana’s prison problem
While acknowledging Indiana’s efforts to reform its criminal justice system has slowed the growth of the state’s prison population, a new report by the ACLU of Indiana asserts that additional reforms, including expanded access to treatment for mental health and substance abuse, could reduce the number of incarcerated by 50 percent and save Hoosier taxpayers more than $541 million by 2025.
Supreme Court again hears arguments in fixed-plea sentence modification cases
The Indiana Supreme Court once again granted transfer in two cases dealing with issues of modified fixed-plea sentences, hearing back-to-back oral arguments last week. The arguments come after appellate panels reached differing conclusions.
Gary woman agrees to plead guilty in daughter’s shooting death
A northwestern Indiana woman has agreed to plead guilty to a reduced neglect charge stemming from her 2-year-old daughter’s shooting death. Dashana Fowler, 22, Gary, agreed Monday to plead guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury in the Sept. 4 death of Jayla Miller.