Northwest Indiana Discussion

Man faces drug charges after arrest at Hobart High School

StoryDiscussionPosted: Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:50 pm | No Comments Posted

Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizeHOBART | A 19-year-old Hobart man was arrested at Hobart High School on Wednesday morning and faces charges of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia through Hobart City Court, Lt. Greg Viator said.

Police were called to the high school, 2200 E. 10th St., after receiving a tip from a school administrator who had conducted an internal investigation, he said.

The school police officer assigned to the high school received the information from that investigation, Viator said.

Charges were still pending through the Hobart City Court.

School officials couldn't be reached for comment. - BY DEBORAH LAVERTY, THE TIMES

Police: Hobart man grabbed worker's throat, punched him
Story Discussion Posted: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 12:00 am | (2) Comments

Font Size: Default font size Larger font size LAKE STATION | The 41-year-old owner of a limousine company has been charged in connection with an incident in which he allegedly tried to choke an employee, police Lt. John McDaniel said.

Eduardo Loza, of Hobart, was charged last week with battery and strangulation through Lake Superior Court.

One of Loza's employees contacted police Aug. 30 and reported that his boss had grabbed him by the throat and punched him in the face.

The employee told Detective Brian Williams that Loza had gotten angry with him when he brought back a damaged limousine to a location in the 3300 block of Liverpool Road. Loza also accused him of being on drugs, a condition the employee said he denied. - BY DEBORAH LAVERTY, THE TIMES

Hobart man admits guilt to child molesting
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September 4, 2009

Post-Tribune staff report
A Hobart man who admitted he molested a girl during a two-year period faces a maximum three-year prison term.

Jeremy Jacob Ring, 33, faces from probation to a maximum three years for molesting the girl, who was 11 in July 2006 when the crimes began and continued until June 2008.

Ring had faced a maximum eight years on the original child molesting charge, which will be dismissed Oct. 15 if Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez accepts the plea agreement.

Ring will be required to register for life as a sex offender.

Guilty plea in woman's death
Man admits to driving high
Story Discussion Bob Kasarda - bob.kasarda@nwi.com, (219) 548-4345 | Posted: Saturday, October 3, 2009 12:00 am | (3) Comments

Font Size: Default font size Larger font size VALPARAISO | A 29-year-old Hobart man pleaded guilty Friday to driving under the influence of marijuana and killing a woman who was out walking her dog along Ind. 130.

Steven Cates pleaded guilty to a B felony in return for prosecutors dropping the remaining charges and capping his potential prison term at eight years.

The proposed plea agreement also calls for suspending Cates' drivers license for five years and allows him the right to argue for community corrections.

Porter Superior Judge Bill Alexa took the proposed agreement under consideration until Nov. 20, at which time he will decide whether to accept it and carry out sentencing.

Cates is accused of running over Mary Shobe, 57, of Union Township, shortly before 5 p.m. Nov. 13.

The crash occurred at Ind. 130 and County Road 625 West, near Shobe's home. Shobe was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., where she died Dec. 5.

Porter County authorities said Cates fled the scene, but his passenger came forward shortly after the crash. The passenger said Cates was driving 70 to 80 mph and passing multiple cars.

Police said Cates admitted hitting Shobe and stated he panicked because he had no insurance. Cates stated he was driving the speed limit at the time of the crash.

Hobart man given 25-year term in molestation of Hammond girl Story Discussion Posted: Thursday, October 1, 2009 12:00 am | (4) Comments

Font Size: Default font size Larger font size CROWN POINT | A Hobart man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting a 12-year-old Hammond girl.

A jury in August deliberated for about one hour before finding John Ray Henry, 49, guilty on two counts of child molesting.

Henry molested the child during four months in 2004, both at his own home and at a Hammond location, Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said.

The families of Henry and the victim had been friends, Carter said.

The victim's relatives testified Henry robbed the child of her innocence and traumatized her.

Another two child molesting cases pending against Henry are scheduled for trial early next year. - BY TIMES STAFF

Law and Order
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October 1, 2009

Hobart Man charged with battering 3-year-old

A Hobart area man has been charged with battery after a 3-year-old boy returned home after a weekend with his father and had a large bruise on his buttocks.

Matthew William Huttle, 26, of the 7000 block of Parke Street, was charged after the boy told his mother his "daddy did it" because he pooped in his pants.

The bruises took about two weeks to fade and did not appear to be typical spanking, court records state.

The child also had bruises on his neck, which Huttle told the mother occurred after the child fell.

The charges are punishable by a maximum three-year sentence.

Law and OrderComments


September 15, 2009

Hobart

Man charged with hitting ex-girlfriend

A Hobart man has been charged in Lake Superior Court with attempted aggravated battery for punching his former girlfriend in the head.

Matthew William Huttle, 26, of the 7000 block of Parke Street, caused a deep gash in the woman's forehead and blackened her right eye. The woman required five stitches at St. Mary Medical Center.

The crime occurred at about 4 a.m. Friday in the 2000 block of Reed Court.

Hobart man shoots self in leg while cleaning his handgun Story Discussion Posted: Friday, October 16, 2009 12:00 am | No Comments Posted

Font Size: Default font size Larger font size HOBART | A 49-year-old man, who lives in the 600 block of North Hobart Road, was cleaning his handgun when it accidentally discharged and shot him in the leg, Lt. Greg Viator said.

The victim was transported to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart for treatment. - By Times Staff

Man sentenced to year in prison
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October 16, 2009

HOBART -- Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced a Hobart man to one year in prison for child molesting.

Jeremy Jacob Ring, 33, admitted in court last month he fondled the 11-year-old girl between July 2006 and June 2008 in Hobart.

After he serves his prison sentence, Ring will be on probation for two years.

Ring's plea agreement set a three-year maximum sentence.

A second charge of fondling in the presence of a minor was dismissed.

Robbery attempt ends with shootingComments


October 13, 2009

BY CHRISTIN NANCE LAZERUS, (219) 648-3086
A Gary teen was shot in the foot and a Hobart man sustained head injuries in a robbery gone awry on Monday afternoon.

Detective Sgt. Mark Davis said Dustin Stevenson, 22, and Samuel Domingo, 19, were looking for a marijuana dealer in the area of 51st Avenue and Kentucky Street around 4 p.m.

They were approached by several black men, who got in Stevenson's car and told them where to go. Then the men tried to rob Stevenson and Domingo at gunpoint.

There was a struggle, and Stevenson was able take the suspect's gun. Both men fled the scene.

The suspect's friends emerged from behind a nearby building and started shooting in Stevenson, who shot back and hit a 16-year-old boy in the foot.

The suspect beat up Stevenson and retrieved his gun. Stevenson had to get stitches in the back of his head, Davis said.

There are no suspects in custody at this time.

Man sentenced in hit-and-run death

Steven Cates given four years behind bars

StoryDiscussionBy Bob Kasarda - bob.kasarda@nwi.com, (219) 548-4345 | Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2009 12:00 am | Loading…

Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizeVALPARAISO | A four-year prison sentence was handed down Friday to the hit-and-run driver who killed a Union Township woman.

Union Township volunteer firefighter Don Shobe told the court Friday he was the first from his department to arrive on the scene of a pedestrian accident Nov. 13, 2008, along Ind. 130. He discovered the victim of the hit-and-run driver was his wife of 35 years, Mary Shobe.

What followed was 23 days in the hospital leading up to the 57-year-old's death, followed by the daily challenge of carrying on without her, he said.

Shobe and other family members were on hand Friday as the driver, 29-year-old Steven Cates of Hobart, was sentenced by Porter Superior Judge Bill Alexa to four years in prison and two years on home detention.

"That will step you back into the community," Alexa said.

That portion of the sentence will be followed by four years on formal probation and continued substance abuse counseling.

The sentence was more than the two years behind bars suggested by defense attorney Bob Harper, but fell short of the eight years sought by Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Bennett.

"I am very remorseful, sad," Cates told the court. "I grieve for their family and their loss."

Cates, who had pleaded guilty last month to driving under the influence of marijuana and killing Shobe at Ind. 130 and County Road 625 West, was in tears as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

Authorities said Cates fled the scene, but his passenger came forward shortly after the crash. The passenger said Cates was driving 70 to 80 mph and passing multiple cars.

Police said Cates admitted hitting Shobe and stated he panicked because he had no insurance.

Bennett told the court this is Cates' third arrest involving driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, in addition to a 2003 arrest involving public intoxication.

Hobart family found guilty in fracas with city policeComments


November 19, 2009

BY ANDY GRIMM, (219) 648-3073
Three members of a Hobart family -- who have sued Hobart police claiming their civil rights were violated during their arrest in a 2008 incident at their home -- were convicted Wednesday of criminal charges stemming from the Aug. 20 fracas.

Jurors viewed surveillance video from the home of James and Candace Olig, showing the couple and their two sons grappling with police officers in the front yard of their home in the 300 block of Wilson.

James Olig was found guilty of charges of resisting a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct. Candace Olig was found guilty of resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and battering the officer.

The couple in February 2008 filed a federal lawsuit claiming they were unlawfully arrested. John Bushemi, the attorney representing the city in the civil case, said the criminal convictions are a blow to the Oligs' case claiming their rights were violated by police.

"The jury saw the video and concluded otherwise," Bushemi said.

The civil trial, before U.S. Judge Andrew Rodovich in federal court in Hammond, has been delayed until the conclusion of the criminal case.

The Post-Tribune was unable to reach lawyers for the Oligs on Wednesday.

Police charge Hobart couple with credit card theft, fraud

StoryDiscussionPosted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:00 am | Loading…

Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizeHOBART | A Hobart couple has been charged with fraud and theft after they allegedly stole credit cards from a woman's purse and went on a spending spree, police said.

John S. Ensign, 29 and Diana R. Santmyre, 33, were charged Tuesday in Lake Criminal Court.

Police were contacted Aug. 30 by a woman who said she had been at the Ensigns' apartment when she got into a confrontation with Santmyre.

She said she forgot her purse, went back to get it and noticed her wallet, personal checks, a debit card were missing, as well as her camera.

The woman contacted her bank and was told several charges had been made on her credit card, which she hadn't authorized.

Those charges included ones made at Speedway in Hobart, the Road Ranger in Lake Station and the Speedway in Hammond.

Ensign was identified on surveillance cameras using the credit cards at the Lake Station gas station. And both he and Santmyre reportedly admitted to police they had taken the credit cards and used them without permission. - By Deborah Laverty, The Times

Hobart man convicted of fatally shooting golden retriever in '07

Witnesses dispute dog was on the attack

* Story

By Susan Brown - susan.brown@nwi.com, (219) 662-5325 | Posted: Monday, March 15, 2010 4:05 pm

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CROWN POINT | A Lake Superior Court jury on Friday found a Hobart man guilty of criminal mischief in the 2007 shooting of a 20-month-old golden retriever.

Robert Predaina, 47, was charged in October 2007 with cruelty to an animal and criminal mischief, each a misdemeanor punishable by as much as one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Predaina said he was sitting on his porch in the 300 block of South Virginia Street the night of Aug. 15, 2007, when a golden retriever approached, growling, and began fighting with his pointer mix, court documents show. Predaina told police he walked into his house and got a handgun, which he used to shoot the golden retriever in the head after it bit him.

Eyewitnesses, however, testified the retriever sat down before being shot in Predaina's yard.

Prosecutors contended Predaina thought the dog belonged to a neighbor with whom he had been feuding.

"It's just a shame three young Hobart children lost their beloved pet because he did nothing more than get out of the yard during an incredibly bad storm," Hobart Deputy Police Chief Jeff White said after the verdict.

Predaina is scheduled to be sentenced April 16.