Federal prisoner wins habeas relief for miscalculated sentence
A prisoner challenging the calculation of his federal sentence was granted habeas corpus relief Wednesday after a district court judge found his sentences were miscalculated.
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Victims’ testimony admissible in child molesting case, COA rules
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday was not convinced by a man’s argument that his decades-long sentence for child molesting was inappropriate or that victim testimony was inadmissible.
Suspension extended for Warsaw attorney guilty of fraud, theft
Indiana Supreme Court justices on Monday indefinitely suspended a Warsaw attorney who earlier this month pleaded guilty to multiple fraud and theft charges and agreed to repay more than $51,000 to his former law firm, clients and a bank.
Fort Wayne man exonerates teen co-defendant in fatal shooting
A northeastern Indiana man who pleaded guilty in an October killing told a judge before he was sentenced that a teenage co-defendant played no role in the slaying.
7th Circuit: Mother’s sentence, restitution order affirmed in child porn case
A Hammond woman convicted for possession of child porn will keep her enhanced sentence and restitution order after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the rulings in her case Friday.
Man gets 50 years in Indianapolis doctor’s 2017 killing
A 19-year-old man who pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of a prominent Indianapolis doctor was sentenced to 50 years in prison after telling a judge that he “got railroaded.”
Indy 16-year-old pleads guilty to killing siblings, gets 40 years
An Indianapolis teenager charged as an adult pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of murder in the August shooting deaths of two siblings.
Reversal: Orange County man’s child molesting conviction improperly elevated
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ordered a man convicted of child molesting resentenced. The panel found his felony conviction was improperly elevated and cautioned the trial court regarding consideration of his uncharged allegations on remand.
Conviction upheld for ex-Gary city employee who ordered, sold iPads
A former employee of the City of Gary who purchased more than $1.3 million in computer equipment and resold it for cash lost an appeal of her conviction and sentence before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday.
Trial date postponed for alleged gunman in judges shooting
A trial that had been scheduled to begin next Monday has been continued until mid-April for the alleged gunman who plans to claim self-defense in the shooting of two southern Indiana judges last year.
Man’s 6-year sentence affirmed in fatal teen car wreck case
While hanging out one evening at a playground in 2017, five Indianapolis teenagers got into an argument with two women nearby who were searching for a drone owned by Daniel Cannon. When asked if they wanted to fight, the teens got back into their vehicle, drove toward the women as if to hit them, and then moved on to the street.
Indiana man gets 15 years in Evansville pursuit crash that killed 3
An Indiana man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting he “messed up” in a 2017 Evansville police chase crash that killed two children and a man and seriously injured the children’s pregnant mother. Frederick McFarland, 29, was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in November to four counts of resisting law enforcement.
7th Circuit: Collateral-attack waivers in plea deals defeat firearms appeals
Two men claiming their firearms convictions should be invalidated after a 2019 Supreme Court ruling failed to find relief at the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that collateral-attack waivers in their plea agreements were valid and thus defeated their challenges to their convictions and sentences.
COA upholds sentence for man who repeatedly stabbed wife
A Lake County man who stabbed repeatedly stabbed his wife did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday that his nearly 30-year sentence for the crime was inappropriate.
Bont: Baseball, politics and the curveballs of crime and punishment
Much like baseball players, politicians (or political operatives) are making headlines for not playing the game by the rules.
COA orders new trial on repeat sexual, habitual criminal offender enhancements
The Indiana Court of Appeals has vacated a man’s habitual offender adjudications and remanded them for a new trial after finding he did not personally waive his right to a jury trial on the two enhancements.
Tipton Co. man gets house arrest, probation in crash that killed woman
A young man who was 17 when he caused a fatal high-speed crash in central Indiana will spend a year on house arrest.
Judge denies man’s bid to withdraw plea in Indy doctor’s slaying
A 19-year-old man who pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of a prominent Indianapolis doctor faces decades behind bars after a judge refused to allow him to back out of his plea deal. Devon Seats pleaded guilty in January to murder and three counts of burglary in the November 2017 slaying of Dr. Kevin Rodgers, who was fatally shot in his home on Indianapolis’ northwest side.
COA splits over length of woman’s consecutive sentences for drug dealing
The Indiana Court of Appeals divided Thursday on a woman’s consecutive sentences for drug dealing convictions, with a dissenting judge contending her 24½-year term should be shorter.
South Bend grandfather to plead guilty in toddler’s cruise ship death
A South Bend man who was holding his granddaughter before she fell from a cruise ship window and plunged to her death in Puerto Rico said he has agreed to a plea deal “to help end part of this nightmare.”