United States Attorney Northern District of Indiana
Telephone (219) 937-5500 Fax (219)852-2770
5400 Federal Plaza Suite 1500 Hammond, Indiana 46320
August 18, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASED BY: Joseph S. Van Bokkelen
United States Attorney
Northern District of Indiana
5400 Federal Plaza, Suite 1500
Hammond, Indiana 46320
The United States Attorney's Office announced that a Grand
Jury sitting in Hammond, Indiana, returned the following
indictments:
RUBERTO MERCED, age 50, charged with being a felon inpossession of a firearm in July 2005. This charge was filed as aresult of an investigation by the ATF/HIDTA and the HammondPolice Department. This has been assigned to and will beprosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J.Padilla, who can be reached at 219/937-5500 for any inquiries.
RAIYUAN D. STRONG, age 37, of Gary, Indiana, charged withbeing a felon in possession of a firearm in August 2005. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the ATF/HIDTAand the Gary Police Department. This has been assigned to andwill be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney DeanLanter and Special Assistant United States Attorney JackieJacobs.
MICHAEL L. JACKSON, age 27, of East Chicago, Indiana,charged with possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine in February 2005. This charge was filed asa result of an investigation by the Gary Response InvestigativeTeam (GRIT). This has been assigned to and will be prosecuted byAssistant United States Attorney Susan Collins, who can bereached at 219/937-5500 for any inquiries.
The specific sentence to be imposed upon conviction in each case will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
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