Articles

2 charged in vandalism of Hammond church

Authorities say two men are facing charges after they allegedly ransacked a northwestern Indiana church and left behind painted hate messages. Hammond police announced Saturday that 23-year-old Aaron J. Vanoppens and 22-year-old Nicholas D. Reding were charged with one count each of burglary and institutional criminal mischief after the interior of Faith United Church of Christ in Hammond sustained significant damage.

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Hammond woman accused of driving over boyfriend twice, killing him

A northwestern Indiana woman accused of driving over her boyfriend twice with a car has been charged in his killing. Twenty-three-year-old Briana Rice of Hammond is charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the April 24 death of 25-year-old Terrondy Jones.

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May trial set for alleged gang member charged in 2 killings

A federal judge has set a May trial for an alleged Latin Kings gang member who’s charged in the 1999 beating deaths of two men at a Hammond auto shop. The double-homicide trial of 38-year-old Jeremiah Shane Farmer is set for May 6 in the U.S. District Court in Hammond and is expected to take two weeks.

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Cop whose slurs were recorded quits Hammond police

A white police sergeant who spent 26 years with the Hammond Police Department has resigned while under investigation for homophobic and racist comments made while off duty at a bar. Lt. Steven Kellogg said the officer submitted a retirement letter Thursday, two hours before an interview.

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COA reinstates Hammond zoning suit against landlord

The city of Hammond may proceed with an ordinance violation act against a local landlord after the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a trial court’s finding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case in a trial de novo.

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NW Indiana scrap dealer convicted of razing historic bridge

A federal jury has convicted a northwestern Indiana scrap-metal dealer of interstate transportation of stolen goods for allegedly demolishing a historic railroad bridge and selling the metal. Prosecutors said Kenneth Morrison and a work crew cut up the unused Monon Bridge that spanned the Grand Calumet River near downtown Hammond and sold it to Illinois scrapyards for $18,000. He also allegedly sold parts to an East Chicago scrap dealer.

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Judge denies new trial in off-duty officer’s 1980 death

A judge has denied a request for a new trial for an alleged getaway driver convicted in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer. James Hill was sentenced to 47 years in prison in October after a jury earlier convicted him of murder in perpetuation of robbery and attempted robbery, and Judge Salvador Vasquez determined there was no need for a new trial.

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Order to return 5-unit apartment to single-family house upheld

The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed a public works and safety board’s order that a man restore a property he uses as apartments back to a single-family dwelling after finding the home to be unsafe and sufficient evidence proved it was not a multi-family unit.

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Second man faces charge in off-duty officer’s 1980 death

Another man is facing a murder charge in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty northwestern Indiana police officer. A 68-year-old man released this summer from an Illinois prison sentence has been charged in the slaying of Hammond officer Lawrence Pucalik.

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Scrap dealer’s request to dismiss Hammond bridge theft charge denied

A federal judge has denied a northwestern Indiana scrap metal dealer’s request to dismiss charges for allegedly demolishing a historic Hammond railroad bridge and selling the metal for $18,000. Kenneth Morrison argued the grand jury didn’t get an accurate picture of whether the city of Hammond or the railroad company owned the Monon Bridge, but Judge Philip Simon said prosecutors only have to prove Morrison had no claim to the scrap metal.

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Jury acquits Hammond man accused of killing woman’s dogs

A jury has acquitted a northwestern Indiana man who authorities say stole two dogs that belonged to a woman he formerly dated and killed them. A jury on Wednesday cleared 24-year-old Anthony Priestas of two felony counts of killing a domestic animal.

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Real estate attorney Barbara Wolenty dies at 62

Longtime Indianapolis real estate development attorney Barbara A. Wolenty is being remembered as a talented but tough dealmaker, spirited and gifted friend, well-regarded adviser and beloved mother and wife. Wolenty died Oct. 2 at age 62 after battling cancer.

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