Man sentenced after trespassing at Hammond grocery
A Calumet City, Ill., man was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail for criminal trespass and misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
Frankie Avalon Chandler, 54, admitted in court that he selected grocery items on May 5 at Strack & Van Til, 115 Sibley St., Hammond, hid them in his jacket and tried to leave the store. He was stopped by a Lake County police officer who attempted to handcuff him. Chandler admitted he resisted being placed under arrest.
Chandler had been barred from the local grocery store chain property after he was convicted in January 2014 of criminal trespass.
Chandler’s plea agreement, which was accepted by Lake Superior Court Judge pro tem William Enslen, outlined a one-year sentence on each charge served concurrently.
Tennessee man gets probation for resisting
A Knoxville, Tenn., man was placed on probation for one year for resisting law enforcement.
Nicholas Martin, 27, admitted in court Thursday that he was driving a Jeep on June 30, 2014, in Crown Point near 93rd Avenue and Van Buren Street when a Crown Point police officer tried to pull him over. Martin admitted he disregarded the officer’s lights and siren and fled, leading to a high-speed pursuit that ended in the 1300 block of West 94th Court in Crown Point.
Martin, who was in an inpatient drug rehab program in California while his case was pending, is a new person, defense attorney Eric Morris said. “I’ve seen a big change in him. He’s got a new purpose,” Morris said.
While Martin is on probation, he must complete a drug treatment program, Lake Superior Court Judge pro tem William Enslen said.
Man gets probation for punching 13-year-old
A Griffith-area man was sentenced Thursday to one year on probation for misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury.
Steven V. Prather, 50, admitted he got into an altercation with a 13-year-old boy on Feb. 2 at the family home in the 1200 block of West Highway 330, and punched the boy on the left side of his face. Police observed red marks on the boy’s left temple and neck, where the boy told police Prather had choked him.
Prather must complete anger management counseling, Lake Superior Court Judge pro tem William Enslen said.
Deputy prosecutor Nadia Chivers said she had spoken with the victim and his mother and they agreed with the terms of the plea agreement.
Prather had faced one to six years on charges of criminal confinement and battery on a person younger than 14, which were dismissed along with three other felony charges.
Valparaiso man faces child porn charge
A Valparaiso man has been charged in Lake Superior Court with possession of child pornography.
Paul Anthony Stover, 27, of the 700 block of Elm Street, is charged with having child pornography, which he received through social messaging in February 2013 when he was living at an apartment at 2050 W. 86th Ave., Merrillville.
In an interview with an agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Stover admitted he had received about 100 images through Kik Messenger, court records state.
The charge is punishable by six months to three years.
Cedar Lake man charged in knife attack
Charges of battery by means of a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness have been filed in Lake Superior Court against a Cedar Lake man.
Mark David Mackey, 47, of the 6900 block of West 135th Avenue, admitted to police he and another man had been involved in an altercation at an apartment at 8121 Meadow Lane, Munster, when a woman who lived at that address tried to intervene, court records state. The woman said Mackey grabbed a knife from the counter and cut her left arm.
The woman was treated at the scene.
The most serious of the charges is a Level 5 felony, which is punishable by one to six years.
Gary man charged with robbery, confinement
Robbery and criminal confinement charges have been filed against a Gary man in a July 5 incident at a Hobart motel.
Thomas Matthew Phelps, 23, of the 1200 block of Dekalb Street, was charged in Lake Superior Court in connection with an incident reported at Key West Inn, 1855 Mississippi St.
The victim told police she was staying at the motel. A woman she knew only by a nickname wanted to borrow money from her, but the victim refused. The victim later told the woman she would give her $20 for a ride to Portage. The woman agreed to pick her up on July 5 in front of her hotel room.
Instead, a man arrived in a gray Toyota and said he was there to give her a ride to Portage. The victim said she felt uncomfortable and told the man she wasn’t leaving until the woman showed up. As she went inside her room, the man forced his way inside, the probable cause affidavit states.
A second man entered, and they demanded to know where her money was, according to court records. The woman said she began screaming for help, and the first man, identified as Phelps, got on top of her and began strangling her, court records state. Both men punched her, took the contents of her purse, including money, a cellphone and a bottle Xanax, and ordered her into the bathroom, the affidavit states.
The woman identified Phelps from a photo lineup.
A second man, Nico Prince, 26, of Hobart, also was charged in the case in July. As of Thursday, he had not been arrested on the warrants issued in the case.
— Ruth Ann Krause
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