Indiana Criminal Defense Attorneys
MyIndianaDefenseLawyer.com
By dave
Greenwood Police are on the lookout for a serial arsonist. Arson is one of the state’s most serious property damage crimes and an offense that has the potential to cause a lot of pain and damage.
Imperial Hills subdivision is located near County Line Road and Shelby Street. This single neighborhood has seen 5 fires in the past month, causing $60,000 in damage. What ties these fires together other than the neighborhood is how they were started, using lighter fluid from the homes. [Read more…]
By dave
Your profession isn’t always an indication of your level of professionalism. School administrator Sharon Downing is the director of Choice Academy and facing serious criminal charges. Fitting the bill of a white collar criminal, Ms. Downing could be facing prison time.
According to this report from The IndyStar, Downing is accused of taking out a loan in her sister’s name and forging her sister’s signature. In 2007 the loan was taken out in her sister’s name for $83,600. Downing’s sister apparently had no idea.
Now, Downing is facing 2 charges of forgery and 2 counts of identity deception, both very serious criminal charges. A warrant has been issued for her arrest and a $5000 bond has been set. [Read more…]
By dave
An Indiana man is facing a lengthy prison sentence after just having gone through possibly the most heart wrenching year of his life. James Michael Booher was recently sentenced to 8 years in prison following charges of neglect in relation to his daughter’s death.
Last May Booher’s 5 year old son shot his younger sister in gun play gone wrong. The young boy retrieved the semi-automatic off of a bookshelf before doing the unthinkable.
Interestingly, this report from Indiana’s News Center claims the boy had previously retrieved the same handgun from on top of the refrigerator only 8 months earlier. On that occasion he shot a hole through the kitchen cabinets. This, says the court, is part of the reason for the father’s charges. They explain he should have known to move the gun to a safer area after this initial accident. [Read more…]
By dave
Currently, twenty police surveilance cameras are located in high crime areas around the city. Some of them have been in place since 2006. However, if you are looking for real data on their effectiveness, you won’t have much luck. No one has really been tracking how these tools work in the fight against crime.
The cameras are on street corners in some of the toughest neighborhoods and can be panned to get footage from 360 degrees. They can collect images from up to 3 blocks away and would seem to be a valuable tool. Some, however, claim the cameras only move the problem rather than eliminate it.
Fifty four cameras are currently in place. This includes 34 cameras permanently affixed to watch city and state facilities. These cameras, in all, cost taxpayers $1 million. Within the next few years, the city hopes to add 50 more using federal grants. [Read more…]
By dave
This past weekend wasn’t a good one for the Sadler family of northern Indiana. According to the IndyStar both father and son were charged with OWI/DUI and met up at the Whitley county jail to share their stories. It just goes to show that everyone makes mistakes and DUI charges are very common.
The son, 19 year old Kosciusko County Deputy Coroner Derrick Sadler was pulled over after speeding, going 73 miles per hour in a 60 mph speed zone. Police found he had a blood alcohol level of .17%. Dad, Coroner John Sadler was contacted to pick up the son’s vehicle but he was found to be intoxicated as well, with a blood alcohol content of .10%.
Both men will face DUI charges now. The legal limit in Ohio is .08% and anything over this is subject to criminal charges. [Read more…]
By dave
A fire that destroyed sections of a multi-million dollar building on March 12th may have been started by a homeless man attempting to frighten an ex-girlfriend. According to the Indianapolis Star Brandon Burns told several people that he started the fire in the Cosmopolitan of the Canal. Burns has been charged with arson and intimidation.
Police are still investigating the case as there are several questions left unanswered. Prosecutor Carl Brizzi states he wants to “dig deeper” to ensure all of the information is known. He claims the whole story seems a little “neat and tidy”.
The building is a $37 million dollar project that contains apartments and retail areas. According to the president of construction, many areas survived the fire and the remaining damaged sites will be rebuilt. The building was scheduled to begin moving in tenants in May. [Read more…]
By dave
Indiana House Bill 1020 would permit judges discretion in requiring any convicted drunk driving/OWI to install an alcohol-detecting ignition interlock device (IID) in his or her car. Current Indiana law only allows for an ignition interlock requirement after a second offense OWI conviction.
However, the bill may still be changed during the legislative process to require the devices after any 1st offense drunk driving conviction. MADD and other advocacy groups are pushing for an even tougher bill. Industry groups that represent restaurants believe a mandatory 1st offense IID requirement is far too strict, and unfairly punishes average people who may have made a 1 time mistake and been caught barely over the limit. [Read more…]
By dave
Methamphetamine labs are on the rise again in Indiana, according to this article from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. 2008 saw the 2nd highest total annual amount of meth lab busts in the state.
Why the Increase? Despite new laws regarding pseudoephedrine and the increased farmer security on anhydrous ammonia, meth labs grew. This is due, they say, to new production methods that don’t require the use of ammonia and are simpler than the former science lab looking methods.
What the police call “one pot” or “shake and bake” cooking is much simpler than the old recipes and produces smaller quantities. This does not mean labs are cooking less. On the contrary, they cook more to make up for the smaller batches.
With this new method and subsequent production increases, state police have exhausted their overtime funds in combating the problem. Officers are now being compensated with comp time instead and no doubt feeling the effects of long hours with little payoff. [Read more…]
By dave
ShotSpotter, a microphone-based application can locate gunfire origination and relay the information to police. It is being used in other departments across the country with seemingly good results. According to this article from the Indy Star Public Safety Director Scott Newman says he would like to have some in place by the end of this year.
At $500,000 for the first and $250,000 for every system thereafter, a dozen cameras are placed in a mile radius to pinpoint gunshot locations. These shots can be immediately sent to dispatch or even to cruisers. Because people sometimes fail to report shots fired, the police believe this shortened reaction time will increase the arrest rates. [Read more…]
By dave
The number of incidents of shoplifting is on the increase this year, in Indiana and nationwide. And the holiday season is always one of the busiest for shoplifters. People go into stores to steal gifts, and because of the busier traffic, many people feel that they are more likely to not be noticed.
Add in the tough economy with lots of people out of work and desperate, and it all adds up to a very busy holiday season for police and retail store security and theft prevention departments.
Shoplifting prevention usually comes in two forms: video surveillance and active anti-shoplifting personnel. Store security may be in the store watching you, in plain clothes, pretending to be regular shoppers. And both actively scanned and passively monitored (through motion detectors) video monitoring is happening constantly. [Read more…]