A Gary man was sentenced to six years Wednesday in a plea deal for trying to run over a couple, then pinning their friend between two vehicles.
De’Arieus Kindred, 39, pleaded guilty, but mentally ill to three counts of battery by means of a deadly weapon.
Judge Gina Jones said after three years, if conditions are met, he has the option to file to modify his sentence and leave prison early.
The case was complex — with Kindred’s mental health, balanced with what appeared to be inconsistencies in witness accounts of the incident.
Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Koonce asked for six years in prison, saying they could provide the structure to help him. Kindred had a half-dozen felonies and needed to stop committing crimes.
The three victims “were not here” — and generally had not been cooperative with prosecutors, she said, adding they could have gone to trial without them.
Koonce said there were questions if one victim helped fuel the original situation.
Defense lawyer Josh Malher said it “wasn’t entirely a one-sided affair.”
Prosecutors were only left with the victim’s police statements in the charging documents, he said. During the case, Kindred was transported to a state mental hospital in Logansport for “stabilization” and returned a different man.
Past cases generally were drug-related or did not address underlying mental health struggles.
Prison “would be a setback,” he said. “We are asking for a little bit of grace.”
Kindred thanked Jones.
“I still need help,” he said.
Jones noted Kindred was “very forthcoming” — to probation in a presentence investigation report — “which is good.”
She acknowledged his progress since the case began.
“I do see that,” she said.
Merrillville Police were called around 5:45 a.m. Aug. 22, 2023 to the 6000 block of Tyler Place after someone called 911, then hung up.
The woman claimed Kindred — her drug dealer, who sold her marijuana vapes — was increasingly obsessed and stalking her.
She told officers “Dearieus,” a man she met two months ago, had started sending her “alarming” and “stalker-ish” texts, according to the affidavit. It had escalated recently. He was “jealous” of other men and said they were “soulmates,” according to court documents.
As the couple walked to the car, close to the curb, Kindred drove right at them in a blue Chevrolet Equinox with Alabama plates.
The woman jumped out of the way. The boyfriend appeared to roll up on the hood. The friend ran to the SUV and banged on the window.
Kindred put the car in park and the friend was able to open the door and “restrain” him. The driver’s seat was reclined back. The boyfriend jumped in the back driver’s side to help so the friend could get out.
The friend tried to get to the woman’s car when Kindred hit him, rolling on the hood, then got pinned between their vehicles.
As Kindred drove toward them again, the friend threw a landscaping brick at the SUV. Kindred’s vehicle crashed into the retaining wall and got stuck there. Kindred then took a “metal rake,” then tried to fight the friend with it. Kindred ran back toward a relative’s house.
