Porter County courts roundup

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VALPARAISO

Man who hit soldier found guilty

A Porter County Superior Court jury found a Valparaiso man guilty of misdemeanor battery that kept an Indiana National Guard member from going to Afghanistan.

The jurors returned the verdict against Justin P. Crum, 21, on Monday, rejecting a self-defense argument.

Crum could get up to a year in prison when sentenced Feb. 23 for the July 2010 battery.

Court records state that Crum struck the soldier three times with his clenched fist, the first in the temple, shattering the left orbital socket, and the last while the other man was down.

The victim would have been in Afghanistan with the 713th Engineering Company that sustained casualties Jan. 6.

Portage

Man can be tried for sex crime

A second round of testing has found a Portage man competent to stand trial for a Class C felony sex crime, despite having what his public defender said was tested as a very low IQ.

Jeffrey S. Rogers, 27, could be sentenced up to eight years if found guilty at his April 20 in Porter County Superior Court trial for inappropriately touching a mentally handicapped child during May 2010.

While at the state mental hospital at Logansport, Rogers received instruction from staff on what a trial is about and what his and the others’ roles would be.

Rogers’ attorney, Larry Rogers, asked Tuesday for a bench trial rather than a jury trial at his client’s request.

The defendant was also restricted from receiving any more magazines through the prison mail.

He had been receiving copies of a magazine for and about young girls, although he maintained that he gave the wrong numbers when ordering a subscription to a dirt bike magazine.

Porter County

Cocaine charge could be upgraded

The Porter County Prosecutor’s office has increased the charge against a Gary man accused of dealing cocaine and is seeking to have a habitual offender enhancement included.

However, the attorney for Andrew Lee Watts, 33, is seeking to have evidence thrown out, specifically a videotape that Larry Rogers said he found out about a week ago and a lab report that conflicts with police reports on the amount and type of cocaine he sold to a Porter County Drug Task Force informant in July 2010.

The probable cause affidavit states that Watt sold less than three grams of rock cocaine, but the lab report describes it as “white/off-white rock-like powder” weighing 4.72 grams, enough weight to warrant raising the Class B felony of dealing in cocaine charge to a Class A felony.

Watt is also facing four Class B felonies in Lake County, the reason for a possible habitual offender enhancement charge.

He will have a March 20 hearing in Porter County Superior Court to see if he qualifies for public funds for an expert witness, a May 7 hearing to see if the tape and lab report are admissible and a June 11 trial.