Police seek help in Indiana woman’s unsolved 1997 killing
State police are seeking the public's help in solving a cold case — the 1997 murder of a Shelbyville woman.
law enforcement
Articles
Unnamed IMPD officers sued for destroying homeless camp
A suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of homeless clients alleges two as-yet unidentified Indianapolis police officers unlawfully seized and destroyed the belongings of five homeless individuals who had been living under a railroad bridge.
Elkhart mayor names new police chief after resignation
The mayor of Elkhart has named a new permanent replacement for a police chief who resigned under fire. Mayor Tim Neese on Friday named 21-year police veteran Chris Snyder to replace Ed Windbigler, who resigned Dec. 10.
US soldier charged in wife’s killing flees to Thailand
A 21-year-old U.S. soldier is accused of flying to Indianapolis from Colorado to kill his estranged wife, then dumping her body in a trash bin and fleeing to Thailand.
State police: No video of man’s killing by trooper
Relatives of a man fatally shot by an Indiana State trooper near Crawfordsville are demanding answers after police said there was no body or dash camera video of what led up to last week’s shooting along a western Indiana highway.
COA: Consecutive sentences not inappropriate for ‘independent and distinct’ charges
A man arrested for drug-related charges who later received additional charges under a separate cause failed to convince an Indiana Court of Appeals panel that a trial court abused its discretion by ordering his second sentence to be served consecutively to the first.
COA reverses one of multiple firearm convictions on double jeopardy grounds
An Indianapolis man who was found guilty of multiple crimes following a single traffic stop has gotten some relief after the Indiana Court of Appeals tossed one of the convictions because it violated double jeopardy principles.
Prosecutors concede 3 Buncich convictions should be vacated
Federal prosecutors concede there wasn’t enough evidence to convict former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich on three of the five wire fraud counts he was found guilty of and he should be resentenced. Prosecutors say they failed to introduce sufficient evidence of “Federal reserve payroll fund” transfers alleged in three counts of the indictment against Buncich and “the Court should vacate Buncich’s convictions on those counts.”
Records: Probe of Indiana’s AG cost taxpayers at least $26K
An investigation into allegations that Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill drunkenly groped four women at a party last March cost taxpayers at least $26,300, according to records obtained through open records requests. The bulk of the expenses, $17,861, came from the office of Inspector General Lori Torres, which opened its inquiry after requests by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb and legislative leadership.
IMPD officers sued for destroying homeless camp
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit Wednesday against two as yet unidentified Indianapolis police officers, alleging they unlawfully seized and destroyed the belongings of five homeless individuals who had been living under a railroad bridge.
Supreme Court to travel, invites amici in smartphone privacy case
The Indiana Supreme Court will hit the road early next year to hear oral argument in a first impression case involving smartphone privacy. Justices also have invited amicus parties in the case as they seek to determine whether law enforcement can force a woman to unlock her phone as part of a criminal investigation.
Ex-officers’ wiretap lawsuit against Pittsboro police advances
A lawsuit by former officers against Pittsboro police claiming the department secretly recorded their conversations in violation of federal wiretapping laws will proceed, a federal judge has ruled.
15-month prison term for Porter Co. cop who stole from police group
The former treasurer of a Valparaiso police organization has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for stealing nearly $190,000. Lawrence LaFlower told a federal judge Monday that “everything revolved around gambling,” which is why he began embezzling money from Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 165 in Valparaiso.
S. Indiana man hears charges in chase that killed Charlestown officer
Benjamin Eads of Freedom appeared in court Monday in Scott County on charges including auto theft and resisting law enforcement, which led to a death. Authorities say Eads fled a traffic stop on Dec. 12, triggering a police chase during which Charlestown Officer Benton Bertram’s vehicle struck a tree. Bertram was pronounced dead at the scene.
Portage to pay $10K in police dog’s killing of dog
The city of Portage has agreed to pay $10,000 to the owners of a dog killed by a police dog that escaped from its handler. The dog, Bandit, was killed after a Portage police officer lost her grip on her Belgian Malinois police dog, Nyx's, leash during Portage’s Sept. 15 Bacon Fest.
New lawsuit says Elkhart police obstructed shooting probe
The sister of a man Elkhart police killed two years ago contends in a new lawsuit that department leaders obstructed an independent investigation of the shooting.
Police: Teen, officers exchange gunfire at middle school
A 14-year-old boy who arrived at an Indiana middle school Thursday morning that was already on lockdown after a tip about potential violence shot out glass in a locked door and entered the school before exchanging gunfire with officers inside, authorities said. The boy, who police said died inside the school from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, wasn’t a current student at Dennis Intermediate School in Richmond.
Indianapolis police major losing rank for defending convict
A high-ranking Indianapolis police officer is being stripped of his rank for writing a letter defending a man convicted of rape. Michael Jefferson had been a major who served in the command staffs of current police Chief Bryan Roach and his predecessor, but is being returned to the rank of lieutenant after writing a letter asking a judge for leniency when sentencing 58-year-old Lance Fleming, who was convicted in October of rape and attempted rape.
Police: Teen, officers exchange gunfire at middle school
A teenage suspect and police officers exchanged gunfire outside a Richmond middle school Thursday morning before the boy ran inside and killed himself, authorities said. Indiana State Police Sgt. John Bowling said no one else at Dennis Intermediate School or any officers were injured during the shooting.
Police say teen shooting suspect killed at Indiana middle school
Authorities say a teenage suspect has been killed at a Richmond middle school. Indiana State Police said in a Twitter post that no other students were reported injured in Thursday morning’s shooting at Dennis Middle School in Richmond.