Law and Order Lake County
October 29, 2012 5:00PM
Updated: December 1, 2012 4:21PM
HAMMOND
Man gets 3 years for scalding baby
Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell sentenced a Harvey, Ill., man to three years after he pleaded guilty but mentally ill in a baby scalding case.
Joshua L. Crayton, 23, was released Monday from the Lake County Jail after getting credit for serving 26 months of his 36-month sentence. The judge ordered Crayton to spend 10 months on probation.
Harvey admitted he placed a 10-month-old he was baby-sitting in a bathtub with extremely hot water, causing the child to suffer severe burns. The crime occurred Sept. 2, 2011 in Hammond.
Second man charged with rape
A second man has been charged in a 2011 rape reported by a 16-year-old girl.
Jose Antonio Martinez, 22, of the 1300 block of Truman Street, was arrested early on Saturday and provided a DNA sample for comparison purposes.
His brother, Jorge Martinez, 28, remains at large after being charged in May with rape, criminal deviate conduct, confinement and sexual battery in an Aug. 27, 2011, assault. Jorge Martinez’s DNA either matched or could not be excluded from evidence collected form the girl at Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Hammond after the incident.
The girl picked out both men from photo lineups, the probable cause affidavit states. The charges are punishable by a maximum 20-year sentence.
GRIFFITH
Armed men invade home, take laptop
Police are investigating an armed robbery-home invasion in which a laptop computer was stolen in the 400 block of West 44th Place.
Shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, a resident told police she was sitting at her kitchen table with her back turned toward the living room door when two men walked through the front door. One of the men pointed a gun to her head while the other one went to her son’s bedroom. The man demanded money. The woman told the gunman her purse was at the table.
After the men left, the woman found her purse on the living room floor and noticed her laptop was missing.
Police found no sign of forced entry at the home. The woman said she may have left the door unlocked.
Home ransacked; cash, items taken
Police are investigating a burglary that occurred between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday in the 400 block of North Lafayette Street.
The homeowner found things out of place and discovered that bedrooms, a desk and closet had been ransacked. Jewelry, a handgun and cash were missing. The owner was going to provide police with a list of stolen items.
Police called when shots fired Friday
Police were called to the 1100 block of North Elmer Street for shots fired.
A resident told police her grandson had just left the home when she heard gunshots at about 12:21 a.m. Friday.
No one was injured.
