Law and Order Lake County

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Updated: January 20, 2012 4:52PM

MERRILLVILLE

Trio accused of robbing, handcuffing man

Two men and a woman are accused of restraining a man with handcuffs, then stealing money and a cell phone from him on Jan. 16.

Merrillville residents Dexter Lacey Hoskins III, 20, and Kenneth Eugene Oliver Jr., 20, are charged with robbery and confinement, which are Class B felonies. Ashley Amber Russell, 18, of Merrillville, is charged with assisting a criminal, a Class D felony.

The victim was visiting Russell at her residence in the 900 block of 61st Avenue, and they were talking about the people they were dating. Russell was text-messaging with someone named “Dex,” who was the man she was allegedly seeing. She took some Xanax pills and started crying. Later, she went upstairs, started messing with a side door leading outside and returned to the basement with handcuffs.

About 15 to 20 minutes later, three men entered the side door and headed straight to Russell’s basement bedroom. One man, who had a stainless steel handgun, yelled “Where’s the guns at? We know this is a police house.” A second man restrained the victim with handcuffs, then took his money and cell phone. Russell, who was laughing with the men, went upstairs twice with two of the men while a third man stayed with the victim, pointing a gun at him. Once the men left, he asked Russell to remove the handcuffs and call police. She said that she didn’t know where the keys were and that calling the police was unnecessary.

The victim walked to a nearby business where police were called.

Russell identified the men as Hoskins, Oliver and a juvenile male. She said that she wanted her friends to scare the victim, but she didn’t know they were going to rob him.

HOBART

Man accused of stalking, harrassing woman

A Portage man is accused of stalking a woman, then breaking into her Hobart home on Wednesday.

Jesus Maldonado, 40, is charged with two counts of stalking, burglary, intimidation and residential entry.

Around 2:58 p.m. Wednesday, police were dispatched to a residence in the 600 block of Water Street for a restraining order violation. The woman had a protective order against Maldonado and she received information that he had been dropped off at her house by his sister’s ex-mother-in-law. She told police that her son should be inside, but he was across the street at another house.

She wanted police to make sure that Maldonado wasn’t in her house.

On Jan. 9, Maldonado’s brother called police to tell them that Maldonado had left a detox facility in Kentucky. He told staff that he was planning to leave, steal a car, go to the woman’s house, kidnap her, take her to a hotel, and wait for police before engaging in a gun battle.

Police found Maldonado hiding under a pile of clothing in the woman’s basement. He refused to follow police instructions to put his hands in the air and mumbled “shoot me.” An officer went to handcuff Maldonado, and the other saw the his right arm drift toward his belt; Maldonado said “shoot me or I will shoot you” several times. They threatened to use a Taser on Maldonado, and they forced him on his stomach to put both hands in restraints. Police found a semi-automatic handgun in Maldonado’s waistband.

The woman had filed a restraining order against Maldonado on Sept. 29, 2011. Between Oct. 15 and Jan. 18, he continued to leave her text and voice messages, but they weren’t threatening until early January when she received a message saying if he couldn’t be with her then nobody would.

When she returned home after the arrest, she found her bedroom in disarray, and that Maldonado had stolen her gun.

LOWELL

Man charged with sexual misconduct with teen

A Lowell man scheduled for trial Feb. 27 on a charge of sexual misconduct with a minor has been charged in a new case alleging sexual crimes involving an underage girl.

Keegan Michael Hernthaisong, 20, of Lowell, was charged in Lake Superior Court with two counts of child molesting and two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor involving a 13-year-old girl in Lowell.

A Lake County grand jury issued an indictment against Hernthaisong in December 2010 for sexual misconduct with a minor.

All of the charges are punishable by a sentence of six to 20 years.

Hammond man faces sexual misconduct with minor charges

A Hammond man has been charged in Lake Superior Court with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor involving a 14-year-old girl in Lowell.

William David Eastwood, 28, of the 200 block of 173rd Street, is charged with having sex and performing a sex act with the girl in early 2011.

The charges are punishable by a sentence of six to 20 years.

HAMMOND

Man gets probation for burglary

Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr. sentenced a Hammond man to probation for burglary.

Terrence Joseph Denham, 20, who spent 129 days in the Lake County Jail, was sentenced to three years, with the remainder of his time to be served on probation. The judge also ordered Denham to perform 100 hours of community service.

Denham admitted he went through a window to get inside a building on Aug. 17 in the 400 block of Roosevelt Court in Hammond and stole an air conditioning unit. He also moved a TV and gaming system.

Denham had faced a sentence of six to 20 years on the original charge, which was dismissed. A second burglary case also was dropped under terms of the plea agreement.