Week In Review – South Bend

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Mary Hatton

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ CELL: (219) 314-9993

mary.hatton@usdoj.gov

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

PLEA:

Tyran Lenard, 23, of South Bend, Indiana, pled guilty before Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterlein to the felony offense of unlawful transport of firearms. Magistrate Nuechterlein 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. Sentencing has been set for 11/21/2013. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives .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.

DISPOSITIONS:

Marcus Henderson, 42, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Robert L. Miller Jr to 39 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after being found guilty of the felony offense of possession of firearm by an unlawful user of controlled substances.According to documents filed in this case, Henderson held a woman hostage until law enforcement arrived and intervened.Upon further investigation, five firearms were located in Henderson’s property, including a stolen handgun. 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.

Demerius Shaw, 20, of Indianapolis, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., to 600 months imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offenses of racketeering and carrying and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime/crime of violence .Forty of the sentenced years are on Count 1 RICO which include a murder, two additional shootings and armed drug trafficking.According to documents filed in this case, in 2010 and 2011, Shaw was a member of the criminal enterprise Cash Out Boyz.During his time with the organization, Shaw was involved in the home invasion of a suspected drug dealer.During the invasion, an occupant of the home was shot and robbed of money and drugs. Shaw was also involved in additional numerous violent criminal activities including the murder of a rival gang member. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the South Bend Police Department.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.

Tisha Martin, 44, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced by Magistrate Judge Christopher A Nuechterlein to serve 6 months of probation and $350 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of obstructing the mail.According to documents filed in this case, Martin stole numerous first class greeting cards while working as a mail carrier.At least two items of stolen mail contained cash.The theft amount is estimated from $250 to $500. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.

Francisco Perez, 33, of Gary, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to serve 46 month imprisonment and 4 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine.According to documents filed in this case, in February 2013, Perez was arrested in the Lighthouse Mall parking lot in Michigan City with over 500 grams of cocaine. Perez had received the narcotic delivery from Gilberto Galindo-Lopez.This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

Gilberto Galindo-Lopez, a/k/a Gabriel Ramirez, 33, of Los Angeles, California was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to serve 65 months imprisonment (to run consecutive to the anticipated sentence in a state court case) and 4 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possessing with the intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine.According to documents filed in this case, in February 2013, Galindo-Lopez was arrested in the Lighthouse Mall parking lot in Michigan City with over 500 grams of cocaine. He had delivered the narcotic to Francisco Perez. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

Oscar Arzate, 26, of LaPorte, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Campos et al., was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to serve 46 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of distributing a mixture or substance containing cocaine.According to documents filed in this case, Arzate sold cocaine while working with the Campos family, a local established crime enterprise. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

Willis Fields, 47, of Elkhart, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to serve 3 years supervised probation, 6 months location monitoring on home detention and $27,610.00 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of theft of government property.According to documents filed in this case, Fields applied for federal extended unemployment insurance benefits claiming that he was not working when in truth he was working at a company in Elkhart, Indiana.The total money defrauded was assessed at approximately $15,551.This case was the result of an investigation by the Department of Labor.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Brook.