Gary dad gets 10 years in neglect plea for three kids
A Gary dad was sentenced to 10 years Friday in a neglect plea for three kids, court records show.
Gabriel Washington, 40, admitted in August to three counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury. The prison term was set under the plea.
Their mother, Jessica Hegwood, was also sentenced to 10 years on July 17 after pleading guilty to three counts of neglect.
The youngest children were aged from two years to eight months.
The couple was charged in June 2023 after six kids were removed May 31 from a Gary home in “deplorable” conditions, court records allege.
The oldest child, 11, was playing at a nearby park when Gary Police went with an Indiana Department of Child Services caseworker for a “welfare check” in the 700 block of Adams Street.
The five other kids, aged 8 months to 5 years, all appeared “extremely neglected” and “malnourished” inside the home.
Later, a physician assistant at a Chicago children’s hospital told police the baby was admitted “days” from starving to death, according to the affidavit.
Hammond man faces up to 20 years after plea deal in murder case
A Hammond man faces up to 20 years after a plea deal in a murder.
LaHenry Smith, 38, admitted Friday to voluntary manslaughter in the Sept. 2, 2023 shooting of Demetri Berry.
His sentencing date is Dec. 20.
Hammond Police were called around 2:30 a.m. Sept. 2 to the 900 block of Murray Street. There, they found the victim, Demetri “Tank” Berry, 44, of Hammond, on the ground.
The witness saw “Weeble” pull out a silver revolver and shoot Berry in the stomach. He walked to the north side of the street, then collapsed. The shooting appeared to be unprovoked, according to the affidavit.
Court records state it followed an “altercation.”
