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 Hatton

June 8, 2012 PHONE: (219) 937-5603

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

WEEK IN REVIEW – HAMMOND

Hammond, Indiana- The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following:

PLEAS:

Ø Wendell Walker, 22, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James T. Moody to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Gary Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.

Ø Mark Alan Smith, 41, of Valparaiso, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James T. Moody to the felony offense of receipt of child pornography. This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including ICE - Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Ø Daryl Victor Johnson, 38, of East Chicago, Indiana, pled guilty before Senior Judge James T. Moody to the felony offense of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives HIDTA Task Force and the Hammond Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.

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 Ricky Biggs, Jr., 36, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Senior Judge James T. Moody to 78 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. According to the Sentencing Memorandum filed by the government in this case, Biggs was supposed to make a controlled purchase of narcotics but, instead, he attempted to steal $4,000 USC buy money from the FBI. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.

Ø James F. Tackett, 53, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 27 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute 100 or more marijuana plants. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration HIDTA Task Force and the Lake Station Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

Ø Jeffrey Dyckman, 45, of Burbank, Illinois, a defendant in the case US v DeLeon et al., was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 57 months imprisonment and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to possess and distribute 5 kilograms of more of cocaine. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration HIDTA Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Kolar.