Northwest Indiana Discussion

TYPICAL


One drug, 17 cases

PORTAGE | Whenever Judge Julia Jent reads in the newspaper that someone in their teens or 20s has died, her first assumption on the cause of death always is the same: heroin.


In 2007, federal and local officials arrested a dozen suspects who had been buying large numbers of small packets of heroin in Chicago and Chicago Heights and selling it in suburban communities in Porter County since 2004. The arrests led to indictments against five other people, and a list of several dozen other users who received personal visits from authorities warning them to get off the drug. Of the 17 charged, 15 pleaded guilty while two Chicago-area dealers -- Demond Hardimon and Tariq Wilson -- went to trial. Hardimon was convicted and is serving 20 years, while Wilson was acquitted.

The people indicted were:

* Jackie Hernandez, 40, of Park Forest, Ill.

Pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to distribute a kilogram of heroin and two counts of using a phone in the conspiracy. Hernandez did not have a plea agreement, which meant he did not have to testify or cooperate. He is scheduled for sentencing in September.

* Jacqueline Hernandez, 20, of Sauk Village, Ill.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin. Sentenced in July to more than three years in prison.

* James "JB" Brown, 54, of Illinois.

Pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiring to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for September before U.S. District Judge Philip Simon. Testified against Wilson and Hardimon.

* William "Low Key" Smith, 33, of Park Forest, Ill.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin and was sentenced in April to more than six years in prison. Smith also was charged with escape after he was mistakenly released from Lake County Jail, but that charge was dropped in March after he pleaded guilty to the heroin charge.

* Matthew Bishop, 29, of Crown Point.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin. He was sentenced in June to more than two years in prison. Testified against Wilson and Hardimon.

* Amber Shultz, 23, of Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. Sentenced in June to three days in prison, 10 months home detention and 100 hours of community service. Testified against Wilson and Hardimon.

* Anthony Shultz, 25, of Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a detectable amount of heroin. He was sentenced to one day in prison, six months of home detention and 100 hours of community service.

* Robert Garner, 26, of Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. Sentenced in July to more than four years in prison.

* Mark Lurie, 26, of Crown Point.

Pleaded guilty to one count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. He was sentenced in June to four years in prison.

* Andrew Foster, 24, of Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin. In June, he was sentenced to more than two years in prison. Testified against Wilson and Hardimon.

* Djuro Chris Higi III, 25, of Crown Point.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin. In May, he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

* Kurt Dryer, 25, of Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. He was sentenced in July to more than two years in prison. Testified against Wilson and Hardimon.

* Brad Dryer, 23, Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. He was sentenced in July to more than one year in prison.

* Anthony Cardwell, 27, Valparaiso.

Pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin between 2004 and 2007 and agreed to cooperate with investigators. He was sentenced in July to one day in prison, six months' home detention and 100 hours of community service. Testified against Wilson and Hardimon.

* Demond Hardimon, 28, of Chicago Heights.

Convicted by a jury in March of conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin and was sentenced this month to 20 years in prison. Hardimon is appealing the sentence length.

* Keith Moeller, 49, of Steger.

On the eve of trial in March, pleaded guilty to using a telephone to distribute heroin and was sentenced in August to six years in prison.

* Tariq Wilson of Chicago.

Acquitted in March of conspiring to distribute more than a kilogram of heroin. Even though he admitted to selling individual quantities of the drug to several other people charged in the case, defense attorney Michael Bosch said there was no evidence that he knowingly took part in an interstate conspiracy to distribute the drug.

Can that apply to Puerto Ricans too?

Lake Superior Court Judge Thomas Stefaniak Jr., sentenced a Hammond man to 30 years in prison for a violent attempted robbery of a newspaper carrier.

Darius Washington, 23, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery in July. He admitted on March 18 in the 400 block of Highland Street, Hammond, he asked Selina Flores, 31, of Hammond, who was delivering newspapers, for money and started to punch her with a closed fist.

54 yo man gets beaten when he tries to seperate fighting high school students at bus stop

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=891_1221814526

You want to get rid of that bridge BEFORE it collapses?
Just start a rumor that part of it is made of copper. The brothas will tear it apart trying to get at it. It will be gone overnight.