IndyStar.com: Crime & Courts
Indiana's leading news source for all the top stories, local news, sports and weather.
Semi driver cited after Sunday I-69 crash near Pendleton
PENDLETON — The driver of a truck trailer that lost its rear axles and caused a Sunday crash on I-69 near Pendleton has been cited for a safety violation by Indiana State Police. Jeffery L. Taylor, 43, Auburn Hills, Mich., was previously cited...
Hamilton Co. school aide faces multiple child porn charges
A 30-year-old man who worked as an instructional assistant at a Hamilton County school for the disabled will face multiple counts of producing child pornography, federal authorities say. Andrew J. McGrath, Carmel, was arrested last month after...
Indiana death row inmate waives clemency review
Condemned killer Matthew Eric Wrinkles has made up his mind to die and refused to seek clemency from Gov. Mitch Daniels before his Dec. 11 execution, his lawyers said today. Wrinkles, who was convicted of the 1994 slayings of his estranged wife and...
United Way: Scammers at it again
For the second time this year, the name of United Way of Central Indiana is being used as part of a prize-award scam that could cause unwitting consumers to become victims too, the nonprofit said today. United Way’s Indianapolis office has been...
Guns, drugs seized at Eastside house
Police this morning seized guns and cocaine and arrested four men they suspect were dealing drugs out of a vacant double on Indianapolis’ Eastside. The arrests came after Indianapolis Metropolitan police officers responded to a call of shots...
5 accused of fraud are sought, 1 arrested
5 accused of fraud are sought, 1 arrestedOne Indianapolis woman was in custody Monday and five were being sought on felony charges of welfare fraud and theft in connection with criminal arrests involving people in their households. Specifically,...
6 charged with theft of housing subsidies
Women who got $259,800 accused of welfare fraud Six Indianapolis women have been charged with welfare fraud and theft for collecting $259,800 in federal housing subsidies even though members of their households had been arrested, authorities...
High court weighs use of tests in sentencing
Critics: Judge wrong to consider man’s score on psychological profile in deciding prison time A felon’s friends and hobbies could influence how much time he spends behind bars if the Indiana Supreme Court upholds a lower-court ruling. At...
Suspect arrested in Nov. 4 shooting death
Police arrested an Indianapolis man Monday in the shooting death two weeks ago of a man on the Northwestside. Thomas Halston, 20, was arrested on a preliminary charge of murder in the Nov. 4 shooting death of Andre Drake, said Sgt. Paul Thompson,...
Appeals court upholds 55-year sentence for teen
Elkhart — A state appeals court has upheld the murder conviction and prison sentence of a Northern Indiana boy who was 13 at the time of the killing. A jury convicted Dentrell Brown and then-18-year-old Joshua Love for the March 2008 shooting...
Killer awaiting execution waives clemency hearing
A convicted killer who is scheduled to be executed Dec. 11 has waived his right to a clemency hearing, Indiana Department of Correction officials said Monday. Matthew Eric Wrinkles, 49, could be the first convicted killer executed by Indiana in more...
Man found dead on Westside is identified
A man whose body was found Sunday on the Westside has been identified as Gregory Moore, 27. Police said Moore was found shot in the face and lying in a yard at 18th Street and Alton Avenue at 10:22 p.m. Sunday. He died minutes after being taken to...
Police arrest mother on neglect charge
The mother of a Westside toddler who went unclaimed by her family for a day was arrested Monday and charged with child neglect. Tuesday House, 38, admitted she left the child in the house so she could consume drugs and alcohol, Sgt. Matthew Mount,...
Police question 3 in Westside slaying
A man whose body was found Sunday on the Westside has been identified as Gregory Moore, 27. Police said Moore was found shot in the face and lying in a yard at 18th Street and Alton Avenue at 10:22 p.m. Sunday. He died minutes after being taken to...
Mother of wandering toddler arrested
The mother of a wandering toddler who went unclaimed by her family for a day was arrested today and charged with child neglect. Tuesday House, 38, admitted she left the child in the house so she could consume drugs and alcohol, Sgt Matthew W. Mount,...
Armed Indinanapolis homeowner captures burglary suspect
A homeowner with a gun foiled a burglary with a screwdriver Sunday night. Jorge Barrera, 22, Indianapolis, was charged with burglary and residential entry after a 31-year-old Southwestside homeowner fired a shot at him and held him at gunpoint until...
Man fatally shot on Westside
A man was fatally shot on the Westside tonight, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The shooting was reported around 10 p.m. in the 1800 block of Alton Avenue, in a residential area north and west of the intersection of 16th...
2 hurt in morning shooting on Westside
INDIANAPOLIS — A shooting early this morning on the city’s Westside left two men injured, including one in serious but stable condition. According to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report, the shooting occurred about 2:40 a.m. in the...
Teacher accused of hitting student will avoid trial
A former Perry Township teacher has surrendered his teaching license to avoid trial on allegations that he struck a disabled student in 2008. Thomas Cripe, 65, will not be allowed to teach in Indiana or other states under a diversion agreement filed...
Shelbyville man charged in death of girlfriend's child
Shelbyville authorities arrested and charged a man Friday with battery and neglect in the alleged shaken-baby death of his girlfriend’s 19-month-old daughter. Shelbyville resident Timothy Reedy, 22, was arrested about 7:30 p.m. on a neglect and...
Judge rejects plea deal in Brown County killing
NASHVILLE, Ind. — A judge has rejected a plea agreement for a 14-year-old boy who admitted helping his older brother in an attack that killed an 84-year-old Brown County man and injured his wife. Brown Circuit Judge Judith Stewart says the deal...
Armed intruders heat bottle for crying baby
Armed intruders with an apparent soft spot for babies stole electronics and money during a robbery at an Eastside home this morning. Indianapolis police said somewhere between tying up and pistol-whipping the residents on the 6100 block of East 21st...
Irish abuse suspect worked as counselor
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The attorney for an 81-year-old Roman Catholic priest who faces possible extradition to Ireland says the clergyman moved to the South Bend area in 1990 to take a job counseling drug and alcohol abusers. The Rev. Francis...
Activist faces sexual battery charges
A city youth minister has been charged with sexual battery, accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward two women. Byron Alston, 46, Indianapolis, was arrested on a warrant Tuesday and charged with two counts of felony sexual battery and one...
Car hits woman in wheelchair, companion
Police today were searching for a motorist who struck a woman in a wheelchair and her companion on the Northeastside. The hit-and-run accident happened at 11 a.m. Thursday near 40th Street and Post Road, according to an Indianapolis metropolitan...
Man gets 14 years in race crash that killed 2
BLOOMFIELD, Ind. — A 19-year-old man who authorities say was drag racing before a May crash that killed his fiancee and a motorcyclist has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Preston Williams, Bloomington, pleaded guilty today in Greene Circuit...
Indiana appeals court upholds axing of Obama suit
I’m not a judge or even an attorney, but I...
Youth minister charged with sexual battery
A youth minister has been charged with sexual battery for making sexual advances toward two women. Byron Alston, 46, was arrested on a warrant Tuesday and charged with two counts of felony sexual battery and one count of felony criminal confinement....
Evansville principal accused of shoplifting
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — An elementary school principal has been suspended with pay in an alleged shoplifting case. Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Clark cited and released Patricia Edwards following the Tuesday incident at a...
Shooting victim was to start new job
Food, wine expert is passionate about his career, friends say Gabe Jordan rose from busing tables six years ago at one of the city’s fanciest restaurants to opening one himself. Jordan, a self-taught expert on wine and food, helped esteemed...
