No charges for son of Gary city clerk for gun incident
by Lori Caldwell lcaldwell@post-trib.com|648-3258 August 3, 2012 6:28PM
Updated: September 5, 2012 3:47PM
CROWN POINT — A special prosecutor decided not to seek criminal charges against Tramel Raggs, son of Gary City Clerk Suzette Raggs, for a “gunplay” incident in April.
Lake Superior Court Judge Clarence Murray said Friday that he agreed with the prosecutor’s assessment that there was no probable cause.
Raggs, 32, a county employee who once worked in the prosecutor’s office, displayed a handgun to another driver when both were stopped at Fifth Avenue and Broadway on April 29.
The other driver, a man from Joliet, Ill., followed Raggs and his female passenger, where Gary police stopped Raggs and arrested him.
The alleged victim said he stopped at the downtown intersection alongside Raggs whose car was straddling two lanes. The man made an obscene gesture with his finger and Raggs responded by displaying his handgun.
Raggs said he was afraid for his life when his showed his gun, and denied pointing it at the other driver.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, who employed Raggs for a summer job and later wrote a letter of recommendation for him at the time said, “The law is very specific. You can display it, but you can’t point it.”
Correspondent Ruth Ann Krause contributed to this story.
