United States Attorney David Capp

Northern District of Indiana

5400 Federal Plaza, Suite 1500

Hammond, Indiana 46320

Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary L. Hatton

July 29, 2011 PHONE: (219) 937-5500

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ Fax: (219) 852-2770

WEEK IN REVIEW - HAMMOND

Hammond, Indiana—The United States Attorney's Office announced the following:

Lashon Sain, 46, of Merrillville, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James Moody to count forty-nine of a superseding indictment charging him with engaging in monetary transactions derived from a conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine in the case US v Dwayne Crawford et al. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

Robert Lewis Henson, 65, of Flora, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to count one of an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Sentencing has been set for 10/18/11. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.

Manuel Frutos Mendoza, 42, of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior Judge James Moody to 64 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to count one of an indictment charging him with reentry of a deported alien. Mendoza was ordered to pay $7631.00 in restitution to the Social Security Administration. This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.

Douglas Bryant, 31, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty before Senior Judge Rudy Lozano to counts one and two of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to defraud the United States, and misuse of a social security number. Sentencing has been set for 11/1/11. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.

Edward Eason, 59, of Chicago, Illinois, , was sentenced by Senior Judge James Moody to 105 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to counts one through four of an indictment charging him with the bank robbery of J.P. Chase Morgan Bank in Hammond, Indiana; the Fifth Third Bank in Hammond, Indiana; the National City Bank in East Chicago, Indiana; and the Centier Bank in Highland, Indiana. Eason was ordered to pay $7,483.00 in restitution. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randall Stewart.

Raul Reyes, 39, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior Judge James Moody to 12 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release if not deported after pleading guilty to counts one and two of an indictment charging him with reentry of a deported alien and misuse of a Social Security Number. This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.

Ronald Zastro, 41, of Chicago, Illinois, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to count one of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess and distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

Leonardo Gaitan-Flores, 34, of Cicero, Illinois, pled guilty before Senior Judge James Moody to count one of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration HIDTA Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

Desanka Henrichs, 59, of Lake Station, Indiana, pled guilty before to counts one and two of an indictment charging her with mailing threatening communications. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

Mark Garza, 25, of Munster, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James Moody to count one of an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

James Elliott, 31, of Merrillville, Indiana, was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 180 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to count one of an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.

Ronald Harrison, 54, of Valparaiso, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James Moody to count one of an indictment charging him with theft of Social Security Benefits. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Bell.

The specific sentence in each case to be imposed upon conviction will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.