Week In Review - South Bend

                South Bend, Indiana — The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:

PLEAS

• Jose Mario Sanchez, 40, of Goshen, Indiana pled guilty to the felony offense of conspiring to distribute cocaine. The magistrate is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea.  Parties have 14 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency.  Sentencing has been set for 9/11/2014.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

• Melvin Darnell White, 26, of South Bend, Indiana pled guilty to the felony offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The magistrate is recommending that the district court accept the tendered guilty plea.  Parties have 14 days in which to object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the South Bend Metro Special Operations and St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit.  Sentencing has been set for 9/16/2014.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Grimmer.

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.

DISPOSITION

• Brittany Coburn, 24, of LaPorte, Indiana was sentenced to 1 year supervised probation and 100 hours community service after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor offense of obstructing the mail.  According to documents filed in this case, Coburn was hired as a mail carrier in LaPorte, Indiana, in September 2013.  In October 2013, she abandoned a large quantity of mail in several locations behind a baseball field.  The mail she abandoned included approximately 514 items, of which approximately 237 were first class mail.  This mail was addressed to 152 different individuals.  Coburn lied about her conduct but ultimately admitted it when confronted.  This case was the result of an investigation by United States Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.