GARY MAN GETS 45 YEARS IN DRUG DEALER’S SLAYING
A Gary man got 45 years Friday in a plea deal for a drug dealer’s slaying.
Laron Major, 23, pleaded guilty last month to murder in the Dec. 20, 2022, death of Rafeial Traywick, 41, of Hammond. Traywick was found shot eight times inside a Dodge Durango on the 600 block of Burr Street in Gary.
A backpack with seven ounces of marijuana and empty baggies was in the passenger seat.
Traywick’s death left Catherine Lewis-Hopkins “shattered,” noting in court she would “never hear” her son’s voice again. She wore his ashes in a necklace and asked for a maximum sentence.
After the hearing, she said Traywick was a “loving son” who called her every day.
Traywick’s daughter Amanda Seawood said he was supposed to pick her up from school that day. Instead, she had to help identify his body.
Deputy Prosecutor Jacob Bradewie said their words were “very powerful.”
Defense lawyer Matt Fech said his client made a “life-altering decision.”
Major apologized to the family.
Laron is the son of Ronnie Major, an ex-high-ranking Sin City Disciples operative, who was sentenced to over 24 years in prison in October. Traywick’s death is unrelated to the Gary motorcycle gang’s extensive federal RICO case.
HAMMOND MAN AVOIDS PRISON FOR SHOOTING FRIEND DURING NEIGHBOR FIGHT OVER XBOX
A Hammond man avoided prison Friday for fatally shooting his friend by mistake during a fight with the man’s neighbors over a missing Xbox.
Abel Moreno, 36, pleaded guilty in February to reckless homicide in the June 18, 2022 death of Antonio “Tony” Mora, 35, of Hammond.
Judge Samuel Cappas sentenced Moreno to 18 months in Lake County Community Corrections and 18 months on probation.
On the stand, the victim’s son, Julian Mora, now 19, said his uncle was left to identify the body and see the video where his father took his last breath.
He had to grow up without his dad. He was now studying to be a paramedic, the teen said after the hearing.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Bruno said Mora brought a gun into a regular fight with tragic consequences.
Defense lawyer Mark Gruenhagen said Moreno had “nothing to do” with what started the fight. He was there to help Mora cut down some trees. Someone punched Moreno and he reacted.
He “never intended to (shoot) his best friend,” the lawyer said. The reality will “eat at him forever.”
Moreno told Mora’s family that his “actions created this tremendous trauma in all of your lives.”
“I apologize for what happened to Tony,” he said. “I loved him like a brother.”
Cappas said the case might have been easier to sentence if there was bad blood like in a typical murder. It wasn’t an “accident,” but not on purpose, either.
“There was no need for you to pull out a gun,” he said. Now Moreno would “pay the penalty” for his “bad judgment.”
Police were called June 18, 2022 to the 4300 block of Hickory Avenue in Hammond for a shots fired call, an affidavit states.
A cell phone video appeared to show Moreno pulling out a handgun and shooting twice during a physical fight between six people, charges state.
Mora was found lying in the street after he was shot in the right chest and covered by a white sheet. Witnesses said Moreno’s brother was also part of the fight, but no longer there when officers arrived.
A witness said he and two other friends were “enjoying the weather” and drinking when Mora pulled up in a white Chevrolet Trailblazer. The men inside “threw their hands up” and started yelling. The witness asked Mora if he broke into the friend’s house, who was Mora’s neighbor, and stole an Xbox.
HAMMOND MAN AVOIDS PRISON FOR SHOOTING OUTSIDE BAR
A Hammond man avoided prison Thursday in a shooting outside a bar after an argument.
Alejandro Zamudio, 36, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement filed last month to attempted battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony.
The plea deal called for a four-year sentence, with 360 days in Lake County Community Corrections and the rest on probation.
At 11:10 p.m. May 15, 2024, police responded to a report of a shooting in the 1400 block of Michigan Street, according to the probable cause affidavit. The victim called police and told them he had been shot in the face in the parking lot of Las Palmas Bar, located at 1403 Michigan St., and he was headed to the police department.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
