Hammond, Indiana - The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:
PLEAS:
Duane Spears, Jr., 24, of Gary, Indiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Philip Simon to the felony offense of making false statements to a licensed firearms dealer in the purchase of firearms.Sentencing has been set for 2/27/14.This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives HIDTA Task Force.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Lanter.
Sonyinee Davis Pope, 39, of Hammond, Indiana, pled guilty before District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to the felony offense of making false statements to the United States Postal Service.Sentencing has been set for 2/6/14.This charge was filed as a result of an investigation by United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General.This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi Houston.
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:
Diamond Toney, 19, of Merrillville, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 84 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of use of a firearm during a crime of violence.According to documents filed in this case, Toney established an online relationship with her victim through a dating website. Toney and the victim arranged to meet in Merrillville. Toney and Dedrick Bufkin, armed with a gun, met the victim at the arranged site, tied him up with string and duct tape and ordered him into the trunk of his own vehicle.Toney and Bufkin took money, a cell phone and a wallet from the victim and held him captive in the trunk for approximately 5 hours before letting him go. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation GRIT Task Force and the Merrillville Police Department.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Chang-Adiga.
Eliezer Campuzano-Flores, 30, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by Magistrate Judge Paul Cherry to time served (47 days) after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor offense of knowingly eluding examination by immigration officials.This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Padilla.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
