Gary man gets 60 years for robbing seniors
Rosa Deen watched her husband, Floyd, crumple to the ground late last year as they were robbed by two men outside their home.
"All I saw was the silver pistol ... a stream of blood out of his mouth like a fountain," the 77-year-old woman said, her voice trembling. "He went down, and I thought he was dead."
Floyd Deen, 73, said he was knocked in the head with the gun and lost several teeth. The couple were among those targeted in a series of thefts aimed at senior citizens in the region, police said.
Brandon Green, 22, was sentenced Thursday in Lake Criminal Court to 60 years in prison for his part in the robberies.
The Gary man pleaded guilty to four counts of felony robbery -- one count each in four separate cases, court records show.
Four victims testified at Green's sentencing hearing Thursday regarding their fear during the armed robberies. Lake County Criminal Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. read a letter written by a fifth victim.
"
He chose them because of what they looked like and their inability to fight back," Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said.
Green said he was bullied into participating in the crimes by the other co-defendants. The defendant had a history of mental health problems, defense attorney Lemuel Stigler said.
Green, Milo Joseph Walker Jr. and Landon Shaw,
all Gary residents, were charged with multiple felonies -- including robbery, battery and carjacking -- in connection
with at least 24 crimes in Chicago, Hammond, Calumet City, Burnham, Lansing and Dolton, court records state.
The men were arrested after a months-long investigation by the Illiana Gang Task Force, which includes 30 officers from 10 Illinois communities and eight Indiana communities.
Both Walker's and Shaw's cases are pending, according to the Lake County prosecutor's office.