Latest news with #GaryPolice
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Michigan City man charged after Gary pedestrian hit-and-run
A Michigan City man faces charges after police allege he hit a man crossing 24th Avenue in Gary, then fled. Reginald Coverson, 56, was charged May 9 with two counts of failure to remain at the scene of an accident with moderate or serious bodily injury, one count of criminal recklessness, all level 6 felonies, and two misdemeanors. He posted a $2,500 bond Monday. His next hearing is May 28 before Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan. Witnesses told Gary Police that a white GMC Savana van hit a potentially homeless man around 1 p.m. April 24 on 24th Avenue near Broadway Avenue. The van appeared to back up, then go around the man, before taking off on Georgia Street. Police later traced the van to Coverson. The pedestrian – 'Jessie Doe' – was taken to Methodist, before he was transferred to a Chicago hospital. Police pulled video from a nearby gas station. The victim's distant relative called the police after the hospital called him – trying to reach the next of kin. Coverson was arrested May 7 in a traffic stop near 4th Avenue and Rutledge Street. Officers noted his hands were shaking when they told him he was being arrested for fleeing the crash. Another relative told police May 8 the victim was suffering from injuries including severe head trauma and was still hospitalized. mcolias@
Chicago Tribune
14-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Michigan City man charged after Gary pedestrian hit-and-run
A Michigan City man faces charges after police allege he hit a man crossing 24th Avenue in Gary, then fled. Reginald Coverson, 56, was charged May 9 with two counts of failure to remain at the scene of an accident with moderate or serious bodily injury, one count of criminal recklessness, all level 6 felonies, and two misdemeanors. He posted a $2,500 bond Monday. His next hearing is May 28 before Magistrate Kathleen Sullivan. Witnesses told Gary Police that a white GMC Savana van hit a potentially homeless man around 1 p.m. April 24 on 24th Avenue near Broadway Avenue. The van appeared to back up, then go around the man, before taking off on Georgia Street. Police later traced the van to Coverson. The pedestrian – 'Jessie Doe' – was taken to Methodist, before he was transferred to a Chicago hospital. Police pulled video from a nearby gas station. The victim's distant relative called the police after the hospital called him – trying to reach the next of kin. Coverson was arrested May 7 in a traffic stop near 4th Avenue and Rutledge Street. Officers noted his hands were shaking when they told him he was being arrested for fleeing the crash. Another relative told police May 8 the victim was suffering from injuries including severe head trauma and was still hospitalized.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Tourist teen recalls kidnapping from Michael Jackson home
A teen girl, 17, testified Tuesday that she and her father weren't at the Michael Jackson Childhood Home in Gary long before a man walked up from behind and stuck a gun at her side. Throughout the hours-long ordeal on Aug. 9, then 16, she said she was motivated to remain calm and stay alive. She and her father had been on a road trip, visiting prestigious colleges in the eastern U.S. and Midwest. That day, they planned to head to Notre Dame from Chicago. With an interest in aerospace, she wanted to be an engineer. 'There's no one else,' she said. 'It's up to me.' Oasia Barnes, 69, of Gary, is on trial this week. He is accused of kidnapping the two from the Michael Jackson home, taking them near an abandoned home, separating the girl and forcing her to perform a sex act in an overgrown field. He is charged with several felonies, including Level 1 felony rape. He has denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty. Indiana court and prison records show he is a convicted serial rapist, dating back to the 1970s and was released from a 1985 Gary rape sentence in March 2024. The father, from New York, testified he was a Michael Jackson fan, but didn't know much about Gary. The city, originally built for workers at U.S. Steel, has about 70,000 residents with around 50 murders a year and is plagued by at least 10,000 abandoned buildings. He assumed they would walk inside the home — which is typically locked. He plugged the address into a phone. The Post-Tribune asked Gary Mayor Eddie Melton's office what has been done since the incident to help protect tourists' safety when they stop and visit the property. 'We want to emphasize that this was an isolated incident, and we have not seen any further issues in the area since that time,' Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon said in an email through a mayor's office spokeswoman. Cameras at the home are connected to Gary Police's Real Time Crime Center — launched in 2023, planted at places like gas stations, libraries and McDonalds — that allow officers to pull video surveillance nearly instantaneously. Gary Police works with the Jackson family, residents, businesses to make sure it is covered with footage, he said. '(W)e were able to leverage this technology, along with tips from the community, to rapidly locate and arrest the suspect within hours. We thank our partners at the FBI and Lake County Sheriff's Office for their valuable partnership in this effort,' he wrote. The city is also encouraging residents to put video camera doorbells on their homes. A man called 911 after his cell phone got an alert from a camera system that three people were in the back of his property on the 2200 block of Washington Street address — where the girl was found. At the Michael Jackson home, there were at first maybe a dozen people, including a large Hispanic family, the father said. Barnes passed the man and his daughter briefly, saying, 'don't forget your glove.' 'I didn't think anything of it,' he said. Minutes later, as he was taking pictures of plaques, Barnes approached the girl from behind with a gun, threatening to shoot her. 'You're just baffled,' the man said. 'It caught me off-guard, frankly.' The gunman, who he identified as Barnes in court, was 'very calm.' He gave Barnes a couple hundred dollars in cash, thinking it was just a robbery. When Barnes ordered him to give up his phone, the man handed it to his daughter. On the way to his rental car, the man told the Hispanic family in Spanish that Barnes had a gun and to 'call the cops,' he said. The man told Barnes to take the car. Barnes ordered them inside, saying he needed a ride. The girl sat on Barnes' lap in the backseat. As he gave the man directions, it was 'not looking good' as the area turned increasingly run-down, the father said. Telling him to park near an overgrown alley with garbage, Barnes took the girl out of the car. 'I'm going to borrow her,' the man recalled Barnes saying. 'That's when I realized it was something the man said. He continued to plead with him not to hurt her, then considered trying to run the man down, but didn't want to hurt his daughter. Later, Barnes returned, asking if she was a virgin. 'I won't do her like that,' Barnes said, the man recalled. The man tried to hit the car's OnStar button for help, but it didn't work. 'I have to do something,' he said. 'This is like my last stand.' The father went into the garage and the abandoned home where they disappeared, finding nothing. Coming out, he was 'hysterical.' The man ran to Maryland Street, where he saw a woman coming home with groceries. He knocked on the door. The woman who answered called 911 for him. On cross-examination with defense lawyer Robert Varga, the man said he did not personally witness his daughter being assaulted. Gary Police told him they did not appear to be on the cameras at the Jackson home, he said. The man said he was 'baffled,' noting they had pictures and a selfie — the latter was shown in court. In detailed testimony, the teen recalled what happened. As her dad was ordered to get the car, still at the Jackson home, the assailant — who she also identified as Barnes — told her to touch his genitals over his clothes. Once in the car, he forced her to sit on his lap, then touched her breasts. 'I was very scared,' she said. In the car, she told him she was a virgin. When they got to the overgrown field, he told her to kiss him, then forced her to perform the sex act. 'It was horrifying,' she said. 'It was disgusting.' At that moment, she dropped the two phones she was carrying in the field. Realistically, there was no way she could have safely called 911, she said. Later, they walked toward Broadway Avenue. He told the girl to hold his hand and pretend she was his girlfriend. He talked briefly to three people he appeared to know. How long are you going to keep me, she later asks. Six months, Barnes replied. 'I'm telling (him) I can't do this,' she told Deputy Prosecutor Tara Villarreal. 'I have to go to school.' When they started to hear police helicopters, Barnes took her to Washington Street. She said she was hungry. He texted another man to come over, who took their order and returned later with food. Barnes fondled the girl behind the home, she said. She continued to talk to him, hoping it would distract him. 'I have things I'm passionate about, I want to pursue,' she said. 'I need to keep myself alive.' By then, in a city she didn't know, the girl was considering her options. Right at the time she thought it might be best to make a run, a police officer showed. The trial continues this week. Gary residents can report crime to a police in a Text-to-Tip line at 219-207-8477.
Chicago Tribune
07-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Tourist teen recalls kidnapping from Michael Jackson home
A teen girl, 17, testified Tuesday that she and her father weren't at the Michael Jackson Childhood Home in Gary long before a man walked up from behind and stuck a gun at her side. Throughout the hours-long ordeal on Aug. 9, then 16, she said she was motivated to remain calm and stay alive. She and her father had been on a road trip, visiting prestigious colleges in the eastern U.S. and Midwest. That day, they planned to head to Notre Dame from Chicago. With an interest in aerospace, she wanted to be an engineer. 'There's no one else,' she said. 'It's up to me.' Oasia Barnes, 69, of Gary, is on trial this week. He is accused of kidnapping the two from the Michael Jackson home, taking them near an abandoned home, separating the girl and forcing her to perform a sex act in an overgrown field. He is charged with several felonies, including Level 1 felony rape. He has denied the accusations and pleaded not guilty. Indiana court and prison records show he is a convicted serial rapist, dating back to the 1970s and was released from a 1985 Gary rape sentence in March 2024. The father, from New York, testified he was a Michael Jackson fan, but didn't know much about Gary. The city, originally built for workers at U.S. Steel, has about 70,000 residents with around 50 murders a year and is plagued by at least 10,000 abandoned buildings. He assumed they would walk inside the home — which is typically locked. He plugged the address into a phone. The Post-Tribune asked Gary Mayor Eddie Melton's office what has been done since the incident to help protect tourists' safety when they stop and visit the property. 'We want to emphasize that this was an isolated incident, and we have not seen any further issues in the area since that time,' Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon said in an email through a mayor's office spokeswoman. Cameras at the home are connected to Gary Police's Real Time Crime Center — launched in 2023, planted at places like gas stations, libraries and McDonalds — that allow officers to pull video surveillance nearly instantaneously. Gary Police works with the Jackson family, residents, businesses to make sure it is covered with footage, he said. '(W)e were able to leverage this technology, along with tips from the community, to rapidly locate and arrest the suspect within hours. We thank our partners at the FBI and Lake County Sheriff's Office for their valuable partnership in this effort,' he wrote. The city is also encouraging residents to put video camera doorbells on their homes. A man called 911 after his cell phone got an alert from a camera system that three people were in the back of his property on the 2200 block of Washington Street address — where the girl was found. At the Michael Jackson home, there were at first maybe a dozen people, including a large Hispanic family, the father said. Barnes passed the man and his daughter briefly, saying, 'don't forget your glove.' 'I didn't think anything of it,' he said. Minutes later, as he was taking pictures of plaques, Barnes approached the girl from behind with a gun, threatening to shoot her. 'You're just baffled,' the man said. 'It caught me off-guard, frankly.' The gunman, who he identified as Barnes in court, was 'very calm.' He gave Barnes a couple hundred dollars in cash, thinking it was just a robbery. When Barnes ordered him to give up his phone, the man handed it to his daughter. On the way to his rental car, the man told the Hispanic family in Spanish that Barnes had a gun and to 'call the cops,' he said. The man told Barnes to take the car. Barnes ordered them inside, saying he needed a ride. The girl sat on Barnes' lap in the backseat. As he gave the man directions, it was 'not looking good' as the area turned increasingly run-down, the father said. Telling him to park near an overgrown alley with garbage, Barnes took the girl out of the car. 'I'm going to borrow her,' the man recalled Barnes saying. 'That's when I realized it was something the man said. He continued to plead with him not to hurt her, then considered trying to run the man down, but didn't want to hurt his daughter. Later, Barnes returned, asking if she was a virgin. 'I won't do her like that,' Barnes said, the man recalled. The man tried to hit the car's OnStar button for help, but it didn't work. 'I have to do something,' he said. 'This is like my last stand.' The father went into the garage and the abandoned home where they disappeared, finding nothing. Coming out, he was 'hysterical.' The man ran to Maryland Street, where he saw a woman coming home with groceries. He knocked on the door. The woman who answered called 911 for him. On cross-examination with defense lawyer Robert Varga, the man said he did not personally witness his daughter being assaulted. Gary Police told him they did not appear to be on the cameras at the Jackson home, he said. The man said he was 'baffled,' noting they had pictures and a selfie — the latter was shown in court. In detailed testimony, the teen recalled what happened. As her dad was ordered to get the car, still at the Jackson home, the assailant — who she also identified as Barnes — told her to touch his genitals over his clothes. Once in the car, he forced her to sit on his lap, then touched her breasts. 'I was very scared,' she said. In the car, she told him she was a virgin. When they got to the overgrown field, he told her to kiss him, then forced her to perform the sex act. 'It was horrifying,' she said. 'It was disgusting.' At that moment, she dropped the two phones she was carrying in the field. Realistically, there was no way she could have safely called 911, she said. Later, they walked toward Broadway Avenue. He told the girl to hold his hand and pretend she was his girlfriend. He talked briefly to three people he appeared to know. How long are you going to keep me, she later asks. Six months, Barnes replied. 'I'm telling (him) I can't do this,' she told Deputy Prosecutor Tara Villarreal. 'I have to go to school.' When they started to hear police helicopters, Barnes took her to Washington Street. She said she was hungry. He texted another man to come over, who took their order and returned later with food. Barnes fondled the girl behind the home, she said. She continued to talk to him, hoping it would distract him. 'I have things I'm passionate about, I want to pursue,' she said. 'I need to keep myself alive.' By then, in a city she didn't know, the girl was considering her options. Right at the time she thought it might be best to make a run, a police officer showed. The trial continues this week.
Chicago Tribune
05-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Appeals court roundup: Hammond man's home invasion conviction upheld
The Indiana Court of Appeals issued three opinions Monday, including one case where they upheld a Hammond man's home invasion conviction. Valentine Torrez initially told police he was a victim, too, on Nov. 13, 2021, when a masked man entered his relative's unlocked door in Hammond, blindfolded, then sexually assaulted her and the woman's 12-year-old daughter. Later, he was charged when his DNA came back, including on the relative's lower back and the child's neck and underwear. Torrez, 50, got 33 years in May 2024 after he was convicted of rape, a Level 3 felony; child molesting, and criminal confinement — about half his charges. Prosecutors Arturo Balcazar and Lindsey Lanham alleged Torrez helped plan the home invasion with co-defendant Garrett Whittenburg to assault the female relative and take her credit cards. In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Mary DeBoer rejected Torrez's argument that there wasn't enough evidence for his conviction. Prosecutors needed to show 'concerted action' with the child's assault. 'His course of conduct during and after the offense also supports that Torrez was an accomplice,' she wrote, later adding, 'Torrez left the home rather than assisting or seeking help for them.' 'Clearly, the jury found (the witness's) testimony credible and could reasonably infer Torrez's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt from the evidence presented at trial,' DeBoer wrote. At trial, defense lawyer Kerry Connor argued some parts of the woman's story were inconsistent over time. Torrez can appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court. His earlier release date is in January 2047. Whittenburg's trial is scheduled May 12. Misdemeanor overturned after Gary man shot police dog The Appeals Court overturned a misdemeanor conviction for Spencer Patterson — after he shot a police dog when an officer was trying to arrest him — saying it violated double jeopardy. Patterson, 31, got eight years and has to repay $11,000 to Gary Police. Jurors acquitted him of attempted murder in the case of the officer, but they convicted him of battery by means of a deadly weapon, one count each of felony and misdemeanor resisting law enforcement, and one count of striking a law enforcement animal. Gary Police Sgt. Angel Lozano and his K-9 Falco were chasing Patterson in July 2023 on the 1000 block of E. 35th Place when Patterson shot the dog. In a 3-0 decision, DeBoer ordered Judge Salvador Vasquez to vacate — or cancel the lesser misdemeanor conviction, saying what happened was too close in time to be convicted twice. His earlier release date is in October 2030. Sentence upheld in rape case The court rejected a former Gary man's argument that his prison sentence was too harsh for a woman's assault. Tyron Smith, 32, got 16 years in December after he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery. He was originally charged with rape. In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Elizabeth Tavitas said his sentence was appropriate. The woman told police she let him stay at her place in February 2024, then woke up overnight as Smith was having sex with her. She was 'very upset' and told him to stop. Smith then forced the woman to perform a sex act, then forcefully raped her, according to court records. He forced her to 'consume cocaine' between assaults, the affidavit alleges. The woman said he was abusive to her when drunk or high in the past, court records show. 'Given the brutal nature of Smith's offense and his poor character, we cannot say that his sixteen-year sentence is inappropriate,' Tavitas wrote.
