Week In Review – South Bend

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

PLEA:

William Edward Cooper, II, 51, of Mishawaka, Indiana pled guilty before District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. to the felony offense of possessing a firearm as an unlawful drug user. This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Sentencing has been set for 5/29/2014.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.

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:

Jose Gonzalez, 61, of Milford, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. to 66 months imprisonment with 3 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.According to documents filed in this case, in August 2013, law enforcement officers served a search warrant on Gonzalez’s residence. Officers discovered a white powdery substance hidden in different parts of the property. The powder was found in the dryer vent, roof of the doghouse and in a column on the porch. The substance was tested and determined to be cocaine. Additional drug related paraphernalia was discovered including scales, baggies and other items used to facilitate illegal drug sales.This case was the result of an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.

Emilio Santana-Esquivel, 27, of Macy, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to 10 months imprisonment followed by no term of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of use of a false social security number.According to documents filed in this case, in January 2011, Santana-Esquivel lied and utilized a false social security account number. Santana-Esquivel used this false SSN as well as another individual’s social security card and photo ID in his application for employment with an Indiana based company.This case was the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.

Tad Vandermark, 53, of Syracuse, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Jon E. DeGuilio to 360 months imprisonment with 15 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of production of child pornography.According to documents filed in this case, between 2003 and March 2005, Vandermark lived with a family and videotaped himself and a minor child of that family having sexual contact. Vandermark was aware that images of that sexual contact were being transmitted via a web camera over the Internet to another individual.This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.

Shawn Fox, 49, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced by District Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. to 120 months imprisonment, 2 years supervised release and to pay $3,409 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of bank robbery with the use of a firearm .According to documents filed in this case, in January 2011, Fox entered a South Bend bank with the intent to rob the facility. Fox was armed with a firearm which he used to threaten a teller and to obtain money. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.