Articles

Despite snoozing juror, meth, theft convictions affirmed

Convictions for a man who attempted to make meth were upheld by an Indiana Court of Appeals panel Wednesday after it concluded no abuse of discretion occurred when a sleeping juror in his case was replaced, and that his argument for a new trial was waived.

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Appellate court reduces theft restitution by more than $62K

A man who stole nearly $100,000 from his Ripley County employer will only have to pay about $36,000 in restitution after the Indiana Court of Appeals determined the trial court erred in ordering the man to pay back the full amount. But the court also upheld the man’s 15-year theft sentence, finding it was not inappropriate.

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Hobart ex-funeral home treasurer gets probation for misused funds

A former treasurer of a defunct northwestern Indiana funeral home who allegedly misused funds set aside for customers’ funerals has been placed on probation for a year and ordered to pay more than $15,000 in restitution. Jacqueline A. Kraft, 68, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of theft and was sentenced to a year in jail, but that sentence was suspended.

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Justices’ ruling sparks conversation about PCR for noncitizens

Earlier this month, a 3-2 majority of the Indiana Supreme Court granted post-conviction relief to noncitizen Angelo Bobadilla, finding deficient counsel performance and prejudice. But dissenting justices raised concerns about the ruling inappropriately expanding the PCR analysis.

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Suspended special needs trust lawyer faces more theft accusations

A suspended Greenwood lawyer criminally charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former special needs trust clients around Indiana has been accused in new civil lawsuits of draining another $108,600 from several more trust funds. The additional alleged misappropriations by Kenneth Shane Service drive the alleged missing funds to more than $318,600.

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