Porter County courts roundup

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Updated: January 9, 2012 1:53PM

VALPARAISO

Accused carjacker’s trial date set

The Portage man accused of trying to carjack a woman at a Valparaiso Family Express has a July 9 trial date scheduled.

Emil Anthony Lukstein, 46, was also granted a public defender on Friday to assist in his defense against Class B felony carjacking and misdemeanor battery charges from the Jan. 2 incident.

Lukstein allegedly got into the passenger side of the car while the woman was waiting for her car to fill with gas at the Calumet Avenue gas station, then told her to get out and shut up.

When she got out and yelled for help, two men pulled Lukstein from the car, and he punched one in the eye, cutting him.

Lukstein later told police he didn’t intend to hurt the woman, but he depressed and wanted to get a car and money to see his children in Ohio after a Porter-Starke official confiscated his vehicle’s keys.

DNA links man to two robberies

The Porter County Prosecutor’s office has filed two burglary charges against a Michigan City man suspected in a string of robberies along the LaPorte County line and Pine Township.

Kyle A. Fugate, 19, is listed in court documents as a resident of LaPorte County jail and faces up to eight years on each of the two Class C felony burglary charges.

DNA evidence from the Indiana State Police laboratory identified Fugate as a suspect in the July 23 burglary of RJ Imports on U.S. 20 and Aug. 15 burglary of Ark Ceramics on U.S. 12.

He allegedly smashed a window at RJ Imports with a chunk of concrete and took a computer monitor and a change bowl and tried to remove batteries from cars, which was caught on video.

At Ark, he used plywood to smash down a fence to steal a cash register and to break a window and 18 molds.

The lab provided evidence of a DNA match of blood from both scenes with DNA taken from another crime situation.

Home robber may get drug court

A Porter County man who robbed a home of two guns, a knife and four credit cards pleaded guilty Friday to Class C felony burglary, although he may not serve prison time.

Damian Lee Staubaum, 20, will be sentenced to Porter County’s Drug Court rehabilitation program on Feb. 17 if program officials judge him an acceptable candidate.

Stalbaum broke into a home on Division Road the night of Sept. 22 after being a guest there earlier and stole a .22 caliber Walther and muzzle loader, as well as the knife and the credit cards from a purse in a vehicle in the garage.

He sold the .22 for $140 and had been negotiating for 10 Vicodin pills, records state.

If Stalbaum isn’t accepted by Drug Court, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Woman who helped sell heroin pleads

A Valparaiso woman accused of helping her boyfriend with a heroin deal pleaded guilty to two Class D felonies on Friday.

Rheanna D. Boender, 27, faced up to 20 years in prison for Class B felony aiding in dealing a controlled substance, but she will be sentenced on Feb. 3 to thee years, time served and the rest on probation, if Judge William Alexa accepts her plea to possession of a controlled substance and maintaining a common nuisance.

Boender was involved with traveling to Chicago for heroin, talking on a cell phone to a Porter County Drug Task Force informant while her boyfriend drove on Jan. 30.

She also invited the informant into the house to pick up two packs of heroin at $40 plus a $10 delivery fee.

Man charged with taking spare tires

The Porter County Prosecutor’s Office has charged an Illinois man already in jail, for stealing nine spare tires off trucks at Barile Ford, 2052 U.S. 30, around March 16-17.

Using a knit hat found at the scene, police traced DNA evidence to William Love, a.k.a. Cornell McMillan, 44, who is charged with Class D felony theft.

Love is currently in Porter County Jail.

He faces up to three years in prison if convicted of this crime.

Bail reduced for woman with coke

A single mother accused of having cocaine received a bail reduction Friday so she could make more easily get to her job Saturday.

With approval from Deputy Prosecutor Mike Drenth, Judge William Alexa reduced the bail for Marsha R. Lara, 47, or Hobart to $500 after she pleaded for his assistance to keep her job.

Lara faces up to three years in prison for Class D felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia, and she’s scheduled for an April 23 trial with a public defender.

Court records state police found some cocaine and straws with residue in Lara’s backpack.

Portage

Home detention for selling Vicodin

A Lake Station woman faces six months of home detention and probation as part of her three-year sentence for selling Vicodin to undercover agents.

Valerie M. Berlanga, 30, pleaded guilty to Class D felony possession of a controlled substance on Friday, down from Class B felony dealing in a controlled substance, which could have gotten her a sentence of up to 20 years.

Berlanga sold five Vicodin pills for $20 to Porter County Drug Task Force agents in October 2010 in the parking lot of Quaker Steak and Lube in Portage.

Her sentencing is set for Feb. 24.