A Gary man got nearly four years probation Tuesday for breaking a girlfriend’s arm in spring 2022.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped an attempted murder case against Kevontay Staples for shooting a man outside his home who wanted to buy marijuana.
Staples, 24, pleaded guilty in October to domestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury. The plea deal called for a 4-year term — with 118 days considered time served and the rest on probation.
Staples’ lawyer John Cantrell previously said he believed the attempted murder charge was essentially a self-defense case.
Officers responded before 9:20 p.m. Sept. 17, 2023, to the 3900 block of Martin Luther King Drive. Later at the hospital, the victim could only tell police he had been shot in the chest.
Staples told police on Sept. 18 that he just got back with a friend from the store when he saw a man wearing black walking up the block on the 3900 block of Louisiana Street.
Staples said he went inside and then heard banging on the door. The other man asked for “Kendal.” No one lived there, Staples said, and told him to leave.
Staples went to the back door and saw the man was still close, ducking by some nearby cars. Staples said he thought the other man was going to shoot him and fired four shots at him. The man ran away, he said.
When officers showed up, Staples said he didn’t open the door because there was a lot of marijuana in the house.
Police later found 10 pounds of a green “substance” and over $5,000 in cash, according to court filings.
North Carolina man signs plea for touching preteen girl
A North Carolina man admitted Tuesday he touched a preteen girl inappropriately in 2014.
Tyler Solis, now 29, of Mebane, North Carolina, signed a plea deal for child molesting, a level four felony. He faces up to 12 years. His sentencing is in March.
If a judge accepts the plea, he will have to register as a sex offender.
The victim told Hobart Police that Solis touched her under her clothes between July and August 2014 after she told him to stop.
