Northwest Indiana Discussion

Police seize drugs, guns in raids at region homes


February 19, 2009
By James D. Wolf Jr. Post-Tribune correspondent

Federal and local law enforcement officials raided two houses in Lake Station early Wednesday looking for drugs.

Those raids followed two Sunday evening in Porter and Lake counties where police found drugs, two dozen guns and thousands in cash.

Those raids followed two Sunday evening in Porter and Lake counties where police found drugs, two dozen guns and thousands in cash.

After Sunday's police actions, two men were arrested on federal charges


After Sunday's police actions, two men were arrested on federal charges.

Lane Barendsen, 24, of Valparaiso, and Antonio Trevino, 25, of Hobart, face charges of felony cocaine possession.

No arrests have been made yet for Wednesday's raids, but the investigation is continuing, FBI Supervisor Special Agent Elena Iatarola said.

She confirmed that warrants were executed for two houses in the 2500 block of Decatur Street in Lake Station and that weapons were involved, but she declined to say what agents found on the premises.

No one was hurt in Wednesday's raids, Iatarola said.

Those raids involved officers from the FBI, Porter County Sheriff's Office and Portage Police Department.

Lake Station Police Chief Mike Stills said although his department wasn't involved in the Wednesday raids in his city, the dispatcher received a call from federal agents about 6:45 a.m. that warrants would be served on two houses in the 2500 block of Decatur Street.

Portage Police officials acknowledged they had been involved in a raid, but they would not comment further.

The Sunday and Wednesday raids are not related, Detective Sgt. Jeff Biggs of the Porter County Drug Task Force said.

On Sunday, officers from the Porter County Drug Task Force, the DEA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Agency and the Hobart Police Department seized more than a kilo of cocaine, just under seven pounds of marijuana, 12 handguns, a submachine gun, 12 rifles -- including assault rifles -- and $16,000.

The raids were on a major player for area drug activity, according to Hobart Police Chief Rod Gonzalez.

Comment on this story at www.post-trib.com.

Mom: How could assaults on bus go on so long?


BY BOB KASARDA
bkasarda@nwitimes.com


VALPARAISO | The mother of the 16-year-old boy charged with sexually assaulting and intimidating girls on his Portage school bus asked the court Wednesday how it could be possible the offenses went on since the start of the school year without being reported until just recently.

"Why didn't the bus driver know any of this?" she asked before being ushered out the courtroom, where her questions were answered by her son's public defender.

Her son sat with tears streaming down his face during the short hearing that came to an abrupt halt when Deputy Prosecutor Nick Snow said his office is seeking to waive the boy to adult court, along with two 17-year-olds charged in the case.

A hearing on his waiver request was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 11, while the 17-year-olds will be back for their hearings March 16.

All three boys will remain in custody at the county juvenile detention center.

Juvenile Court Magistrate Edward Nemeth rejected attempts Wednesday morning to release the two 17-year-olds, saying they needed to remain in custody for the safety of not only the community but also themselves.

All three boys appeared before Nemeth with their mothers and the public defenders for initial hearings on their charges.

They are accused of using threats and fear to take over the school bus and spending much of the year sexually touching girls, using aerosol cans to make blowtorches and committing other offenses. The activity ended, police said, when a girl came forward after one of the boys tried to push her face into the exposed genitals of another boy.

One of the 17-year-olds is charged with three counts of sexual battery and one count of criminal confinement as felonies, and criminal recklessness, public indecency and disorderly conduct as misdemeanors, according to Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Amy Beier.

He has a prior offense on a theft charge, she said.

The other 17-year-old boy is charged with felony counts of strangulation, attempted sexual battery and intimidation, and criminal recklessness and two counts of battery as misdemeanors, Beier said.

He has a prior criminal record involving battery against his mother and lesser offenses of truancy, running away from home and incorrigibility, she said.

The 16-year-old is charged with two counts of strangulation, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery and intimidation as felonies, and misdemeanor counts of public indecency, criminal recklessness, battery and disorderly conduct, Beier said.

He has a prior criminal record involving conversion and criminal trespassing, she said.


http://nwi.com/articles/2009/02/19/news ... 7fb8e7.txt

PORTAGE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 8:17 AM
From:

"Mark Becker" <MBecker@portage-in.com>

Add sender to Contacts
To:

undisclosed-recipients
CANCEL MESSAGE

Jeffrey Smith who is wanted in connection with the January 24, 2009 robbery at the Holiday Inn Express in Portage was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida yesterday, February 16th.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance in attempting to locate him

Mark J. Becker
Chief of Police
Portage Police Department

TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT

When : May 21st 6:30 - 8:30 pm

Where: Portage High School

Topic: Home Defense


Good Morning to All!

For Micky Ailes, her nightmare began the evening of October 27, 2001 with a knock on the front door of her Valparaiso residence. A man announced that he was a pizza delivery man who was lost and in need of directions. Micky did not open the door but she did speak to him and soon he left, at least that is what she thought. Micky had forgotten about the exterior basement doors not being locked and the next thing she knew, there was a man in her house and he was pointing a gun at her. Suddenly Micky was in for the fight of her life and for the first time since the trial, she will publicly talk about her experience. Learn what she did right, what she might have done differently and in the end, what she did to survive this terrible ordeal.

Assistant Chief Larry Jolley will also present many helpful hints to consider when enhancing your home defense. Do all your family members understand what they are to do or not do when a stranger knocks and things do not seem right? What about installing an alarm system, exterior lighting, clearing of some landscaping, etc... Are you insured? What about those valuables that have been handed down from one generation to the next? Are you covered or do you need riders for some of those items? Learn the answers to these and other related questions.

You do not want to miss this presentation. Invite all you know to spend a few hours with us, time that may prove very beneficial in keeping you and your family safe. Of course there are no costs to you, we do anticipate a large crowd and all we ask it that you send me an email giving me an idea as to how many you are bringing.

As always, feel free to forward this message to others and invite them to join the Chief's Email.

Have a great day and be safe!


Mark J. Becker
Chief of Police

VALPARAISO — The driver of a Portage High School bus where three juveniles allegedly terrorized and sexually assaulted other students has been charged in the incident.

Terry Burch, 68, of Portage faces felony charges of neglect of dependent, and could serve up to three years in prison if convicted.

According to court records, the parents of one of the girls, who had her head forced to one boy’s exposed genitals, confronted the bus driver at the bus stop.

Burch allegedly said he allowed such behavior because it was taking place after school and he had no authority

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1453351,p ... 27.article

MORGAN TOWNSHIP

Railroad official says horn stolen from train

An official with the Chesapeake & Indiana Railroad told the Porter County Sheriff's Department that someone stole a $500 air horn off a parked train engine.

Donald Wantola told police he parked the train engine on the tracks east of County Road 300 East, near County Road 425 South, at noon Wednesday and returned at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to find the horn stolen.

Last month, Wantola reported a horn was stolen off a locomotive parked near Union Mills in LaPorte County. At the time, Wantola told police a railroad buff was the likely culprit because there were other items on the train with higher scrap value that were untouched.

UNION TOWNSHIP

Town Council advances

$15,000 in cash stolen from home

A Union Township woman reported Thursday that someone stole two 5-gallon water containers full of money from a closet at her home.

The woman, Wilshire Court resident Suzana Strezovski, told police the containers held about $15,000. About four months ago, she reported the theft of some compact discs, perfume and a garage door opener.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP

THURSDAY

Theft. Someone stole a $60 stereo from the vehicle of North County Road 400 East resident Anthony Smith. Police said there were several other thefts from vehicles in the area Thursday.

PORTAGE

TUESDAY

Burglary. Joyce Manley reported a $2,000 riding lawn mower stolen in the 5300 block of Stone.

THURSDAY

Theft. A 16-year-old Portage boy reported about 8:30 p.m. that his wallet was stolen at the YMCA, 3100 Willowcreek Road. The loss is $90.

Theft. Portage resident Manuel Alicea reported about 8:30 p.m. that his wallet was stolen at the YMCA. The loss is $100.

Vandalism. Portside Drive resident Charmagne Newman reported someone scratched the hood and trunk of her car, causing $150 damage.

Theft. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, a resident of Canada, reported someone broke into his rental car and stole a GPS unit.

SOUTH HAVEN

THURSDAY

Theft. Olympia Road resident Michelle Draves reported someone broke into her vehicle, causing $100 damage. Stolen from the vehicle were a teacher's identification, school keys, a $75 iPod, a $100 purse and other items.

ARRRESTS

Feb. 26

Battery | Blake Heckler, 20, 577 W. 650 S., Hebron; Robert Edmond, 35, Hohenwalt, Tenn.

Failure to appear | Travis Henley, 29, 5965 Sundance Trail, Portage; Noble Dennie Jr., 28, Gary

Failure to comply | Johnavie McQuagge, 41, 1117 Winterpark Drive, Valparaiso; Christopher Delgado, 24, Central City, Ky.

Neglect of a dependant | Rachel Varnes, 34, 1610 Urban Lane, Valparaiso; Scott Varnes, 49, 1610 Urban Lane, Valparaiso

Possession of marijuana | Scott Hamilton, 52, 700 Waverly Road, Porter

Theft | Raymond Pittman, 32, 795 N. 425 W., Valparaiso; Susan Napady, 60, 202 W. 700 N., Valparaiso

Police investigate new bus incident
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March 5, 2009
Post-Tribune staff report
PORTAGE -- Police are investigating a new incident of harassment on a Portage Township Schools bus, after a driver reported a Fegely Middle School boy was groping a girl's chest.

Portage Police Department Sgt. Keith Hughes said a bus driver reported to school officials that a 13-year-old boy was trying not only to grab at the girl but to look down her shirt. School officials then reported the case to police Feb. 26, although Hughes said he wasn't sure when the actual incident happened.

Hughes said the 13-year-old boy has not been charged or arrested, however, but said that it appeared the boy had been harassing other students more than once. Hughes said the case had been turned over to the detectives' department, which is still investigating the case.

PORTAGE -- Mayor Olga Velazquez wants to send a message to the community and especially to youngsters about the recent sexual harassment incident on a Portage school bus and the Feb. 9 traffic death of a child.

"We're going to stop this now and here are our tools," she said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

"We're going to stop this now and here are our tools," she said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

Underscoring the pledge in her State of the City address that public safety is her first concern, the mayor detailed the city's official responses to the incidents, particularly the one in which a bus driver has been charged for allegedly failing to stop three boys from victimizing teenage girls.


Underscoring the pledge in her State of the City address that public safety is her first concern, the mayor detailed the city's official responses to the incidents, particularly the one in which a bus driver has been charged for allegedly failing to stop three boys from victimizing teenage girls.

Police Chief Mark Becker said his department also is investigating the Feb. 26 report of an assault by a seventh-grader on another student on a school bus.

Velazquez called the incidents "shocking" and said Becker's newly created STOP IT team has been assigned to work in areas of the city that have requested increased patrols.

"Crime in general has dropped in recent years, and we live in a very safe city … (but) random criminal acts at times occur," she said.

She said the team is working with the Portage Township Schools and resource officer Troy Williams to increase police presence and availability to students who want to report incidents directly to them.

"We have invested in a program called TIP411 to make it easy for anyone to communicate via text messaging," she said.

Becker said the system, with separate keywords for students and the general public, was being ordered Wednesday and should be up and running next week.

"This is familiar to them (students), anonymous, and they feel comfortable with it," he said.

Velazquez said STOP IT is working with Williams and school officials to develop a contract of behavior that will be posted on all buses. "Criminal behavior on school buses will not be tolerated and will be dealt with in a court of law."

She said the city will apply to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program for federal stimulus dollars to fund four new officers, including a second school resource officer.

"Everyone has an absolute right to be safe and secure in our school buses," Becker said.

He said the TIP411 keywords will be announced next week.

Good Morning;

I just wanted to pass along some information concerning a matter that we dealt with last night, one that has made the paper today and may be the topic of some discussion today.

Last night we received information that some school kids in a nearby community had been text messaging information indicating that there was to be a gang initiation at a Wal-Mart store at some point last night. The initiation was to be an act of violence, the location of the store or the time at which this was to take place was not mentioned. I stress that we had no information as to which Wal-Mart store this was to take place nor did we have any idea as to the credibility of the information.

In the interest of public safety we activated our STOP team, members of our Reserve Unit and called out additional officers so as to increase our presence at the Wal-Mart here in Portage. We remained in the area for many hours, maintained communication with local law enforcement to include the FBI and eventually called it a night. Thankfully, nothing happened. No suspicious vehicles or people, everything proceeded without incident.

Today we have learned that this was a prank that apparently has raced across the country. I googled "Wal-Mart, gangs" today and found many related articles that report storied concerning this prank.

I just wanted to pass this information along so that perhaps we can "nip it in the bud"---as Deputy Barney Fife from Mayberry used to say!

Have a Great Day!

Mark J. Becker
Chief of Police
Portage Police Department

Hello to All!

I could not wait until Monday to send this message to you so I came into the office on Saturday to tell you about some exciting news concerning the Portage Police Department.

This past Friday we attended an awards luncheon hosted by the Lake County Law Enforcement Council and the Calumet College of St. Joseph. We were there to observe the presentation of an award to Master Patrol Officer Michael Candiano--Portage's 2008 Office of the Year as well as several other awards made to officers from a variety of departments. We were also present to learn the results of the 2008 Program of the Year award. Calumet College invites program submissions that reflect effective initiatives that can be duplicated by other department's, that which is commonly referred to as "Best Practices". We submitted two programs, one was a fugitive apprehension effort that Sergeant Robert Shrader and his turn had pursued in 2008. A very impressive and creative concept that resulted in the successful apprehension of several who otherwise may have remained on the run for a good amount of time. It is just an excellent example of what we can accomplish when we think outside the box.

The second proposal was entitled " Operation; Community Outreach" which involved a 4 phase program targeting improved community interaction and then follow up action by our department. Phase I was "Public Input" and it involved distributing and analyzing hundreds of crime surveys so as to learn the concerns of our community. We then followed up with visits to various neighborhoods so as to meet with the community and learn first hand what they wanted from this police department. Phase II was "Public Communication", that is establishing a means to establishing and maintaining interaction with the public, which we accomplished via the establishment of the Chief's Email. A simple push of the "send" button keeps many up to date on public safety concerns and a push of the "reply" button puts the public in direct communication with the Chief of Police.

Phase III was "The Response" and we accomplished that via the establishment of an aggressive proactive patrol team now known as the STOP Team. On any given day the team may provide aggressive traffic control, they may be dealing with drug related issues or perhaps those contemplating graffiti are on their radar. Whatever the problem of the day is, so is the the team's assignment. The team is joined by part time assignments from the Hobart, Burns Harbor and Porter Police Departments. Finally, Phase IV, "Law Enforcement Communication" represented our internal effort to ensure that we were all on the same page. On a regular basis representatives from the detective bureau, patrol division, our STOP team and our officers assigned to the FBI's GRIT task force and the Porter County Narcotic's Unit meet to discuss intelligence that we can share and act upon to further ensure the safety of our community.

I am pleased and honored to announce that the Portage Police Department has been presented with the 2008 Program of the Year Award for Operation: Community Outreach. The plaque displays the words "Police Department of the Year", I cannot tell you what those words mean to every member of this department who all equally share in this honor. It is an important step as we continue in our quest to be recognized as the most professional police department in the state.

I should also mention that the award brings with it a $15,000 scholarship from Calumet College of St. Joseph. From my earliest days with this department I have shared a vision with Mayor Velazquez to make continuing education a priority for all of our members. This scholarship goes a long way in our quest, we are grateful to the Lake County Law Enforcement Council and the Calumet College of St. Joseph for this recognition.

Have a great day!

Mark J. Becker
Chief of Police
Portage Police Department

Good Morning;

This weekend we experienced two unfortunate events that have left one person dead and another severely injured. These events involved shootings, which we do not believe to be related at this time and while we have one matter taken care of, there is one shooting that we need your assistance with. This past Friday (May 15th), we received a report of a shooting in the Canden Apartment Complex off Willowcreek. The investigation thus far reveals that at approximately 11:15 pm a female knocked on an apartment door, when the door was opened a second unknown male entered the residence and was armed with a handgun. One of the residents of the apartment, Jeremiah Higgins (27 years of age) confronted the man and was fatally shot during the encounter.

I have attached sketches of the the man and woman that are now being sought in connection with this homicide. The female (suspect 2) is described as medium skinned, possible Hispanic or bi-racial, in her early to mid 20's, 5'5 - 5'7 tall with long black hair. The male (suspect 1) is described as a dark skinned black male, early to mid 20's, 6 - 6'3 tall with medium build and short cropped hair. We need your help! Please take a look at the attachments and let us know if you have any idea as to who they may be. You can call the department at 762-3122; contact our STOP Team at 764-5676 or text us anonymously by texting 847411 then enter PPDTIP so that the message heads our way- then of course type in the message. It is all anonymous. You may also contact 1-800-78-CRIME as yet another manner in which to provide information anonymously concerning this or any other crime tip you may wish to pass along.

It has been my experience that people are reluctant to call in their tips as they often times feel they are likely wrong and they do not want to "bother" the police. I urge you, if you think you might have information concerning this matter, do not hesitate, you are not bothering us and we appreciate your assistance.

On a happier note, 2 other events to remind you of--- This Thursday, May 21st, 7:00 pm, Portage High School (east auditorium) is our Home Defense presentation. We will be presenting ideas as to how to make your residence safer and we are pleased to have a former victim of a home invasion present to discuss her terrifying ordeal. It is free to all and we have plenty of room- hope to see you there.

Also, "Arrive Alive", our defensive driving program for young drivers will kick off on June 13th at 9am-2pm, again at the Portage High School. Spots are filling quickly, we still have a few left and we have several additional dates open for July, August, September and October. For more information, please call Assistant Chief Larry Jolley or Nadine Johnson at 762-3122.

Have a great day and be safe.

Mark J. Becker
Chief of Police
Portage Police Department


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