South Bend, Indiana - The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following activity in Federal Court:
DISPOSITIONS
* Timothy Heckaman, 53, of Bremen, Indiana was sentenced to 2 years probation and to pay $34,126.25 in restitution after pleading guilty to the felony offense of theft of government property. According to documents filed in this case, from in or around March 2010 through September 2011, Heckaman applied for and received extended unemployment insurance benefits through the State of Indiana Department of Work Force Development (“IDWD"). Defendant submitted weekly vouchers to IDWD and intentionally answered “No" to the question asking if he was working when, in truth, he was employed during the specified week. This case was the result of an investigation by the Department of Labor and the Indiana Department of Work Force Development. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Brook.
* Gerardo Martinez-Quinonez, 22, of Lansing, Illinois was sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to the felony offense of use of a false social security number. According to documents filed in this case, in January 2014, in the Northern District of Indiana, with the intent to deceive, Martinez-Quinonez falsely represented a number to be the social security account number assigned to him by the Commissioner of Social Security. This case was the result of an investigation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.
* Eric M. Gainer, 45, of Kewanna, Indiana was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment and 2 years supervised release after being found guilty by jury trial to the felony offense of making false statements during firearm acquisition. According to documents filed in this case, Gainer attempted to purchase a firearm on Oct. 1, 2012 at firearms dealer. Gainer attempted to buy a Rossi 410/22 firearm despite being a convicted felon, despite being under a court restraining order and despite having a prior misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence. Gainer filled out an ATF Form 4473 and falsely stated that he did not have a prior felony conviction, falsely stating that he was not subject to a court order restraining him from harassing, stalking, or threatening his child or an intimate partner or child of such partner, and falsely denying that he had previously been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence (battery) involving his own daughter. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Schmid.
* Leroy J. Clark, 22, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and 2 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to documents filed in this case, on November 7, 2013, a car Clark was riding in was stopped by police. He had a handgun in his possession in the car. Clark had a previous felony conviction in the State of Indiana. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.
* Christopher R. Candler, 39, of South Bend, Indiana was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of failure to register and update registration as a sex offender as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. According to documents filed in this case, on May 29, 2001, Candler was convicted in New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division-Criminal, Morris County for the offense of Sexual Assault. As a result of this conviction, he was required to register as a sex offender in New Jersey at least until May 29, 2016. Candler last registered as a sex offender in New Jersey on July 11, 2012. In 2013, Candler moved to South Bend, Indiana and did not register in Indiana as a sex offender. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Marshal Service. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Maciejczyk.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
