Post-Tribune

Van Til pleads not guilty, trial set for July

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:09:38 -0500

Lake County Surveyor George Van Til denied in federal court Monday morning that he used his public office and employees to help run his past four re-election campaigns and asserted his innocence in a public statement later that day. Along with another man also accused of taking part in another local public corruption case, Van Til, 65, of Merrillville, pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court in Hammond to six counts of wire fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice. Wearing a pale yellow shirt, gray suit and handcuffs, Van Til answered “yes” or “no” to U.S. Magistrate …

Former EC library director accused of tax fraud working on plea deal

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:54:35 -0500

Former East Chicago Public Library Director Manuel “Manny” Montalvo is working with federal attorneys on a deal to plead guilty in his income tax fraud case, according to a motion filed Wednesday. Montalvo, 38, was charged last fall with two counts of lying on his federal income tax return. A federal indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Hammond claimed that Montalvo padded his unreimbursed business and medical costs on his 2009 and 2010 tax returns by $80,577. This is Montalvo’s second legal trouble in recent years. He was convicted in 2010 of battery against two South Shore commuter …

Law and Order Gary

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:44:00 -0500

GARY Christmas day jewelry thief charged A Midtown man is in custody, arrested Tuesday on a felony theft that occurred Christmas Day at his girlfriend’s Glen Park home. Dwayne A. Mabon, 50, of 2339 Pennsylvania St., called the woman he had been dating for three years on Dec. 25 and asked when she would be returning home from her Christmas dinner. She told him she would be gone several more hours. A short time later, her granddaughter called her and said Mabon had arrived at the victim’s home. The victim spoke to Mabon, who was in her bedroom, and told …

Law and Order Lake County

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:40:00 -0500

Hammond Chicago man took steel drums A Chicago man was placed on probation for two years for theft and ordered to pay $5,200 in restitution for stealing 300 empty steel drum containers. Daniel Fred King, 33, admitted he took a semi-trailer on May 4, 2011, from Dover Chemical, 3000 Sheffield Ave., Hammond, containing the steel drum containers that belonged to Meyer Steel Drum. King’s plea agreement, which outlined the sentence imposed by Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell, indicates he can seek to have his felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor if he complies with the terms of his …

Latin King gets 25 years for role in double homicide

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:36:01 -0500

A Latin Kings street gang member will serve 25 years in prison in connection with his part in the double homicide outside a Griffith restaurant in February 2007. The sentence is five years less than Jason Ortiz’s co-defendant Martin Anaya received earlier Thursday at his sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Court in Hammond. Both men were sentenced in connection to the racketeering conspiracy of the Latin Kings, which included more than a dozen murders and dealing hundreds of pounds of cocaine and marijuana. Ortiz, 30, of Chicago, pleaded guilty a year ago to the conspiracy and admitted that he …

Hammond business loses property tax appeal

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:54:00 -0500

CROWN POINT - Morrison Construction will not be getting an additional 35 percent reduction in the assessed property value of its Hammond headquarters. Tuesday the Lake County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals ruled against granting the 35 percent reduction requested by property tax consultant Don Feicht with Uzelac & Associates of Valparaiso. Feicht is representing Morrison Construction in the matter. The appeal was for the seven Summer Street parcels, each home to a different building, that make up the Hammond headquarters of the company. The buildings were acquired by Morrison over the years as the company expanded. Feicht argued …

Crown Point woman had sex with teen, must register as sex offender

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:24:00 -0500

Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced a Crown Point woman to four years on probation for a sex crime involving a 16-year-old relative. Teresa Lyn Peron, 30, of 1000 W. South St., admitted she had sex with the teen between April 2011 and June 2011 at her residence. The boy’s mother said the crime has torn apart the family. The plea agreement originally called for two years on probation, but the judge said he would reject the agreement without a four-year probationary sentence. After giving defense attorney Edward Wartman time to confer with Peron, the sentencing went forward with …

Another man shot in car in Gary’s Midtown area

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:48:03 -0500

GARY — For the second time in five days, a young man was shot and killed while behind the wheel of a car on a Midtown street. Jovan R. Jackson, 22, with addresses in Gary and Valparaiso, was stopped in the 2500 block of Delaware Street about 1 a.m. when police discovered him slumped behind the driver’s seat, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. He was driving a car owned by his girlfriend, who lives in Valparaiso. Jackson crashed into several parked cars on the block where he was found, police said. Early Saturday, Dvae Haynes, 21, was shot to …

Gary council OKs summer internships

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:10:00 -0500

GARY — The Gary Parks Department will offer 12 paid internship positions this summer for teens. The Common Council at its Tuesday night meeting approved 9-0 an ordinance amending the salary budgets for the Youth Services Bureau, which included a new bureau director and nine positions. A companion ordinance approved the rest of Recreation Director Ezra Alexander’s salary for the year and included the other three intern positions. The new Youth Services Bureau director position will pay $43,000 and is a year-round position, said Parks Superintendent Laurie Latham, for which the department will accept applications. The 12 positions will pay …

Church project irks Merrillville officials

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:46:54 -0500

MERRILLVILLE — Town Council and Plan Commission members Tuesday chastised both the contractor planning to build the new Harvest Baptist Church 7520 Madison St. and its pastor over a number of issues, including the fact that work was begun with no building permits. Town officials issued three stop work orders this month after it was discovered the church did not have the necessary permits from the town and stormwater management said the church’s permits for drainage were not in order. Merrillville contractor Terrell Taylor, a former town councilman, said he is just moving ground. Zoning director Dorinda Gregor also said …

LEAD Prep parents shop for new school

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:01:12 -0500

GARY — A tinge of sadness filled the warm gymnasium Tuesday as school officials from the LEAD Preparatory Charter School helped parents find new schools for their children. In January, Ball State University yanked LEAD Prep’s charter and the school’s last day is June 7. LEAD Prep invited other charters and representatives from the Gary Community School Corp. to the meeting so parents could begin shopping for a new school. The schools passed out brochures to parents and answered questions. “I see the stress on them and I just try to put them more at ease,” said Nicole McIntosh, a …

Charges filed in Hammond crash

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:08:24 -0500

Charges have been filed against a Hammond man in a Saturday afternoon crash that seriously injured another motorist. John Atchley, 55, of the 500 block of Kenwood Street, was charged in Lake Superior Court with failure to stop after an accident resulting in serious bodily injury, driving with a suspended license, operating while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and two misdemeanor drunken driving counts. Police were sent to 165th Street and Madison Avenue in Hammond, where they found the driver, identified as Diana Banas, trapped inside a 1996 Ford Explorer, which was on its roof. The other driver had fled …

Charges likely Wednesday against man who attacked Merrillville cop

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:00:39 -0500

Police are trying to nail down details about a man who was shot by an off-duty Merrillville police officer after the two engaged in a physical altercation outside of the Merrillville Planned Parenthood Health Center on Monday afternoon. Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Bob Byrd said attempted murder of a law enforcement officer charges will be filed on Wednesday against the 43-year-old suspect with the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office. The man underwent surgery for the gunshot wound Monday night and was recovering Tuesday in the intensive care unit under police guard, Byrd said. Shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, the man …

Lake County Law and Order

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:20:00 -0500

East Chicago Man admits fleeing from police Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell sentenced a Hammond man to three years in prison for two counts of resisting law enforcement. Carlton Develle Baker, 48, will serve one additional year in prison on a petition to revoke probation for burglary. Baker admitted he fled from police in a car and later on foot on Aug. 28 when officers responded to a burglary call at Fiesta Market, 4624 Magoun Ave., East Chicago, and saw a red Chevrolet Impala fleeing from the business by traveling westbound on Chicago Avenue. The pursuit continued into …

RDA in talks for big Porter County business deal

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:02:44 -0500

MERRILLVILLE — The Regional Development Authority will enter talks to lure an unnamed business to Porter County. If successful, RDA Executive Director Bill Hanna said the project has the potential to be larger — in terms of investment and number of jobs — than the Canadian National Kirk Yard project. The RDA board gave Hanna approval to use its $6 million deal closing fund as leverage in completing a deal alongside incentives offered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Hanna said the business is currently talking with the IEDC, but he said it’s unclear when a deal might come to …

NIPSCO trimming, replacing trees to prevent serious storm outages

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:01:03 -0500

Severe storms can wreak havoc when they touch down, as was the case Monday in Moore, Okla., where an E-5 tornado destroyed much of the town and left dozens dead or injured in its wake. While the likelihood of a similarly devastating weather event here is minimal, storms of any size can be a danger and disrupt the lives of those affected, especially if there is a power outage. Steps are continually being taken by Merrillville-based power provider Northern Indiana Public Service Co. to minimize potential weather-related power outages and keep residents safe from the dangers of downed power lines. …