ILLINOIS MAN CHARGED AFTER HITTING COP CAR IN GARY
A South Holland man is charged after hitting a police car in Gary.
Aamir Tinsley, 34, is charged with two counts of causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, three counts of resisting law enforcement, and one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
He hasn’t been apprehended. When arrested, he is ordered held on a $5,000 cash bond.
When a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy started tailing Tinsley on Jan. 7 for an expired temporary license plate, he eventually crashed into another police car near 9th Avenue and Ralston Street.
The Nissan flipped once. The woman with Tinsley was taken to the hospital with an injured arm. She has not been charged. The other officer, Lake County Sheriff’s Det. Shane Ratkovich, went to the hospital with a cut hand and whiplash.
Tinsley had alcohol in his system above the legal limit. They also found a bag of “white” powder in his vehicle.
PORTAGE MAN GETS PROBATION AFTER AFFIDAVIT CONTAINS ERRORS
A Portage man walked away with a year on probation Friday after lawyers said major parts of the charges against him for hitting a man in Lake Station with a car were untrue.
Brandon Butera, 37, pleaded guilty in February to criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony.
His lawyer Mark Laterzo said he did not hit a man “head-on” as the police affidavit stated, but Butera “side-swiped” him as he tried to leave a cul-de-sac.
The incident stemmed from an ongoing conflict between his client and a group of people, he said. Lawyers said in court that the victim was throwing “stuff” at Butera’s car before the impact.
Lake Station Police responded around 11:50 p.m. April 23, 2024 to the 1600 block of E. 33rd Avenue, according to the affidavit.
Authorities “went a little too far” in filing an attempted murder case, Laterzo said. Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson said after seeing the video, they wouldn’t be able to prove it.
Butera said in court it wasn’t the “first conflict” with the group and his then-girlfriend lived nearby.
