United States Attorney David Capp

Northern District of Indiana

M01-204 S. Main Street

South Bend, Indiana 46601

Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary L. Hatton

April 27, 2012 PHONE: (219) 937-5500

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

WEEK IN REVIEW – SOUTH BEND

South Bend, Indiana -- The United States Attorney’s Office announced that:

PLEAS:

Ø Jesus Rojas, 28, of Granger, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher Nuechterlein to the felony offense of illegal use of a social security number. Sentencing has been set for 7/26/12. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by ICE - Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

DISPOSITIONS:

Ø Marcus Tabler, 27, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Robert Miller, Jr. to 30 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of unlawful transport of firearms. Tabler admitted in the plea agreement filed in this case that he possessed a Norinco rifle while an unlawful user of a controlled substance, specifically marijuana. 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 Frank Schaffer.

Ø Billy Sparks, 62, of Peru, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Moore et al., was sentenced by Judge Jon DeGuilio to 5 months imprisonment, 5 months of home detention and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of making false statements to federal agents. According to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government in this case, Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were investigating a rash of firearm thefts and the resale of these stolen firearms in the Northern District of Indiana. Sparks admitted he had not been truthful in an initial interview conducted by the ATF, not only with regard to the number of firearms he had purchased from Moore but also the number of times Moore had come to his home to sell firearms and the amount of money he paid Moore for the firearms. 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 Donald Schmid.

Ø Larry Hartman, 48, of Elkhart, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Jon DeGuilio to 30 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a felon. According to the plea agreement filed in this case, Hartman admitted that he was convicted of a felony for vehicular homicide in Ohio in 1989. In 2011, police officers executed a search warrant at his home and found 30 marijuana plants growing in the back yard, 2.8 pounds of dried marijuana and several firearms and ammunition. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.

Ø Brian Kinnaman, 48, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Jon DeGuilio to 57 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a felon. According to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government in this case, Kinnaman has two prior felony convictions, 5 prior misdemeanor convictions and a total of 13 arrests. Two convictions were for crimes of violence. Law enforcement recovered 13 firearms and over 2000 rounds of ammunition and high capacity magazines and one assault weapon that had used a device which appeared to make the firearm fire in a full automatic mode. 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 Frank Schaffer.

Ø Jason Graham, 35, of South Bend, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Williams et al., was sentenced by Judge Robert Miller, Jr. to 168 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and maintaining a place for distributing and using a controlled substance. According to the sentencing memorandum filed by the government in this case, in March 2011, an ATF documented informant purchased 28.5 grams marijuana for $95 from Jason Graham out of the house in South Bend, Indiana. In April, 2011, ATF and police executed a search warrant at the house. Jason Graham was present in the house on that date. In the house, police found approximately three lbs. of marijuana, two loaded handguns, two surveillance cameras, drug packaging, and miscellaneous assorted ammunition. Graham was found with $1002 in his wallet (with his ID). 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 Donald Schmid.