COA affirms 20-year sentence for woman who stole from employer
A decades-long sentence has been affirmed for a woman who stole personal items from her former employer after being told she wouldn’t receive back wages after the business went under.
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FBI names Keenan special agent in charge for Indianapolis
FBI Director Christopher Wray has named Paul Keenan special agent in charge of the Indianapolis field office, the agency announced Tuesday. The longtime agent, investigator, analyst and supervisor is an Indiana University graduate.
Filing: Victims deserve ex-Colt quarterback’s concussion funds
Multiple individuals defrauded in a scheme perpetrated by an ex-Ohio State and Indianapolis Colts quarterback and his accomplice should receive money from the former player’s share of a national concussion settlement, an Ohio prosecutor argues.
Ex-Valpo student gets probation for filming students showering
A former Valparaiso University student has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to secretly filming male classmates showering and using the bathroom and posting the videos online.
Poll: Nearly all in US back criminal justice reform
Americans overwhelmingly want clear standards on when police officers may use force and consequences for officers who do so excessively, according to a new poll that finds nearly all Americans favor at least some level of change to the nation’s criminal justice system.
7th Circuit orders resentencing in career offender’s bank robbery, carjacking
A man convicted of armed robbery will again have his sentence reconsidered after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found a district court failed to sufficiently justify why it deviated from his sentencing guideline range by more than 37 years.
Appeals court remands for sentencing order to reflect not guilty verdict
A sentencing order that failed to account for a man’s not guilty verdict prompted a remand from the Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday to fix the omission.
SCOTUS halts Texas execution over clergy question
The US Supreme Court granted a reprieve Tuesday to a Texas inmate scheduled to die for his conviction of fatally stabbing an 85-year-old woman more than two decades ago, continuing a more than four-month delay of executions in the nation’s busiest death penalty state during the coronavirus pandemic.
New execution dates set for federal inmates on death row
The Justice Department has set new dates to begin executing federal death-row inmates following a months-long legal battle over the plan to resume the executions for the first time since 2003. If the executions proceed, they would take place at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute.
Legislator from Indianapolis resigns after arrest
A state legislator from Indianapolis resigned his position Monday after being arrested last week. Democratic Rep. Dan Forestal said his resignation as a state representative was effective immediately, calling his time in office the “greatest honor of my lifetime.” Forestal said he would “focus on my mental health and get myself well.”
Indianapolis partnership aims to reimagine public safety with community’s help
The city of Indianapolis has partnered with the Criminal Justice Lab at New York University School of Law to work to reform public safety in Indianapolis.
Minivan driver charged after striking Indianapolis protesters
A woman who allegedly struck pedestrians with her minivan during a Monday protest on Monument Circle has been charged with felony criminal recklessness.
Special prosecutor asks state police to investigate Indy police shooting
The special prosecutor named to oversee the May 6 shooting death of a black man by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer asked the Indiana State Police on Wednesday to handle the investigation. IMPD also on Wednesday released the names of officers involved in the shooting.
Indianapolis man gets 6 years for killing police dog
An Indianapolis man was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty in Hamilton County to fatally shooting a police dog that was pursuing him.
Protests turn to rage
Peaceful protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd on the last weekend in May in downtown Indianapolis turned violent with police launching tear gas and protesters vandalizing and destroying businesses. Windows were shattered, stores were looted, fires were set and graffiti was spray-painted everywhere. Protests took place across the state including in Evansville, Jeffersonville Fort Wayne, Hammond, Michigan City, South Bend, and Lafayette.
Attorneys despair, but see reason for anger in the streets
Following a weekend of violent protests in Indianapolis that damaged many downtown businesses, attorney Maurice Scott of Scott Legal & Consulting cautioned against getting distracted by bricks and mortar. “The focus should not be on the property damage,” Scott said. “The focus should be on the people who are not being heard, not being seen and not being part of the decision-making process.”
Grandfather’s sexual misconduct with a minor conviction upheld
A man who sexually abused his granddaughter and tried to allege that her father could have been the “source” of her resultant pregnancy had his convictions upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Former jailer charged with driving into Kokomo protest
A former correctional officer who drove into a Black Lives Matter protest faces a felony criminal recklessness charge, prosecutors said Tuesday.
7th Circuit affirms firearms convictions in light of key SCOTUS ruling
In what it called its first precedential decision concerning convictions upon jury verdicts in federal firearms cases after a key US Supreme Court decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the convictions of three men who argued that their indictments and jury instructions were missing an element.
After habeas win, man convicted in IU student’s murder to be freed pending appeal
The man convicted nearly 15 years ago in the killing of Indiana University student Jill Behrman will be released from custody later this month after the same judge who granted his request for habeas relief last year also granted his bid for coronavirus-related release.