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

November 21, 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 activity in Federal Court:

PLEAS:

Ø Eugene Baber, Jr., 27, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich to the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Magistrate Rodovich is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea. Parties have 10 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives HIDTA Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Jacobs.

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 Jesse Mickles, 26, of Indianapolis, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Land et al., was sentenced by Chief Judge Philip Simon to 77 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with the intent to distribute heroin. According to a sentencing memorandum filed in this case, Mickles was a passenger in a vehicle traveling on Interstate 65 in Tippecanoe County that was stopped due to a possible traffic violation. Seventy-six grams of heroin were recovered from the trunk of the vehicle. Mickles also possessed a firearm at the time. Mickles has prior convictions for dealing in cocaine, carrying a handgun without a license and resisting law enforcement. 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 Attorneys Emily Cremeans and Jacqueline Jacobs.

Ø Titus Finnell, 32, of Gary, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Peterson et al., was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 120 months imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. This case was the result of an investigation by the by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives HIDTA Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Nozick.

Ø Arien Williams, 29, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 12 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of distribution of crack cocaine. 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 Dean Lanter.