Judge rejects bid by teen who took gun to Hammond Central to throw out case

A judge rejected Cam’ron Cooper’s bid Thursday to get his case thrown out after he took a gun to Hammond Central in January 2023. His lawyer James Thiros essentially argued the adult court didn’t have jurisdiction. He said the Indiana General Assembly changed a law — effective in July 2024 — where a teen between the ages of 16 to 18 can no longer be automatically charged in adult court for Unlawful Carrying of a Handgun, like Cooper was. Now 18, Cooper, of Dolton, Illinois, was 16 when charged.

Illinois man convicted in jail lobby fire

A jury convicted an Illinois man Wednesday of setting the Lake County Jail lobby on fire on June 5, 2023. Terrance Craig, 42, of Ford Heights, Illinois, was charged with two counts of arson and one count of intimidation. The jury deliberated for about 90 minutes. His sentencing is Feb. 3. During the trial, Deputy Prosecutor Gary Marek admitted police wrongly charged an initial suspect. Craig was arrested after he showed up June 12 to the Hammond Police station ranting in a similar way to the arsonist — including how he had a chip in his brain and ex-U.S. Vice […]