Hammond man faces 40 years for killing victim with disabilities
A Hammond man faces 40 years after signing a plea deal filed Thursday for firing the shot that killed a bicyclist with developmental disabilities near the Illinois state line.
David Velazquez, 24, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a gun enhancement.
A judge would have to accept the plea. His sentencing date is April 24.
Velazquez is charged with the May 25, 2021, murder of Asael Wilson, 25, of Chicago.
Wilson was riding his bike south on Indianapolis Boulevard in Hammond near State Line Road sometime after 7:30 p.m. when a man in the back seat of an aquamarine Honda Odyssey opened fire on him, according to an affidavit.
Co-defendant Terrell Bradley is awaiting sentencing. Another co-defendant, Javier Mendez, has a court date on April 15.
Lake Station man gets 12 years in drug robbery shooting
A Lake Station man was sentenced to 12 years Thursday after a drug dealer and his mother were shot in a robbery setup.
Jeremiah Rogers, 23, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery resulting in bodily injury and attempted robbery resulting in bodily injury, both Level 2 felonies.
Under the plea, he will serve nine years in prison, with three years in Lake County Community Corrections.
Lake Station Police responded at 9:16 p.m. April 3 after the victim called 911, saying he and his mother had been shot. He couldn’t see, he told dispatchers. A witness later reported a black Dodge Journey hitting a fence on the 3200 block of Minnesota Street. A man yelled for help.
The alleged shooter, a teen, 17, who also pitched the idea to rob a marijuana dealer, has signed a plea deal and is awaiting sentencing.
Court records allege Rogers helped set up the drug deal. He told a friend he wanted to buy a quarter pound of marijuana and a friend referred him to the victim.
The other accomplices – Jehad Colvin of Gary, and the driver Makhia Fraley of Rensselaer — have hearings in April and May.
Man gets resentenced on gun charge after alleged juror misconduct
A Gary man was sentenced Thursday to 3 ½ years in Lake County Community Corrections on a gun charge after alleged juror misconduct.
Lironte Biggs, 30, got an 8-year prison sentence in April after he was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.
However, afterwards, in a jury questionnaire, a man confessed he felt “pressured” to convict so they could go home.
“One juror mentioned that he looked up the defendant on mycase.in.gov (the state’s court website) and (Biggs) wasn’t a ‘good’ person,” the man wrote. “That alone got everyone to decide one way, but ignored the case at hand.”
Judge Natalie Bokota set aside the verdict on Feb. 27. Lawyers filed a new plea deal.
Biggs’ mother testified Thursday, saying she encouraged her son to take it. Her other son was murdered in October in an unrelated case, she said.
Police wrote they pulled a car over on Oct. 26, 2023, near 24th Avenue after the driver was caught speeding on Broadway Avenue in Gary. Three men were in the car; Biggs was in the backseat holding a Mike’s Hard Lemonade.
After all three got out, cops found a 9-mm gun under the back seat. Police said Biggs was the only man near the gun. At first, he told cops he didn’t know the gun was in the car, then later said it wasn’t his and the other passenger put it back there.
He claimed he was in the front seat, but cops noted their body cam footage showed him in the backseat.
Biggs, at 16, was charged in 2011 with molesting a 6-year-old boy. He was sentenced to six years in 2013.
Deputy Prosecutor Lindsey Lanham was assigned. Defense lawyer Susan Severtson represented Biggs.
Former E.C. funeral home secretary charged with stealing $100k
A former secretary was charged this week with stealing $100,000 from Divinity Funeral Services in East Chicago.
Erin Thurmond, 32, is charged with two counts of theft.
East Chicago Police wrote the owner told them he gave Thurmond, a trusted employee and friend, access to the company’s checkbook and his personal credit card for company expenses.
Instead, charges allege Thurmond deposited $68,000 worth of checks from October 2023 to August 2024 into an account in her name.
The owner first became suspicious when a $2,000 check never cleared in June. When he asked her about it, she transferred the money from her account back to the funeral home’s account the next day.
He fired her on Sept. 4.
During the investigation, police discovered she charged $33,000 in 2021 on the owner’s credit card in Amazon.com purchases.
The funeral home is at 3831 Main Street.
mcolias@post-trib.com
