IndyStar.com: Crime & Courts
Indiana's leading news source for all the top stories, local news, sports and weather.
Jeep runs on top of motorcycle; 2 hurt
Two motorcycle riders were hurt Saturday night after being struck by a suspected drunken driver. Jonathon Gonzalez, 23, Kokomo, and Megan Anderson, 23, Tipton, were traveling through the intersection of Westfield and Kessler boulevards about 6:45...
3 men detained after Westside robberies
Police have detained three men for questioning after a second robbery was reported less than a mile away from an incident earlier this evening in which three people were beaten during a burglary on the city’s Westside. The incidents began...
Man shot in leg on city’s Northside
An Indianapolis man was shot in the leg this afternoon during what he told police was an attempted robbery, police said. Around 3:30 p.m., Wilbert Wilkerson, 24, was parked in a McDonald’s parking lot near 51st Street and North Keystone Avenue...
2 motorcyclists hit; DUI suspect held
Two motorcycle riders were hurt Saturday night after being struck by a suspected drunk driver. Jonathon Gonzalez, 23, Kokomo, and Megan Anderson, 23, Tipton, were traveling through the intersection of Westfield Avenue and Kessler Boulevard about 6:45...
Remaining vigilant on civil rights
Indiana’s latest cross-burning case illustrates challenge facing state and feds Cross burnings may seem like a relic from a dark chapter in American history, but an incident in Indiana resulted this week in prison sentences of a year or more...
Graffitist 'CHOKE' tagged, police say
Miguel Villanueva has painted a reputation from California and Las Vegas to Cincinnati and Bloomington, police say. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives believe the Richmond man is the artist “CHOKE,” who has left his...
Student on her way to bus stop is raped
A 15-year-old girl was raped Friday morning as she walked to her school bus stop on the Eastside, police said. The attack occurred about 6:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Tuxedo Street, said Sgt. Paul Thompson, spokesman for the Indianapolis...
Prisoner: Reese said he lay in wait for officer
A jury heard testimony Friday from a man who shared a holding cell with the defendant accused of shooting Indianapolis police officer Jason Fishburn in the head during a foot chase. Brian Reese said he waited for Fishburn around the corner of a house...
15-year-old girl raped while walking to bus stop
A 15-year-old girl was raped Friday morning as she walked to her school bus stop on the Eastside, police said. The attack occurred about 6:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Tuxedo Street, said Sgt. Paul Thompson, spokesman for the Indianapolis...
Feds in Indianapolis say hate crimes are top priority
Federal authorities who gathered today in Indianapolis to highlight efforts to crack down on hate crimes pointed to a case out of Muncie as a reason for vigilance. On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced three men for their involvement in...
Graffiti in Downtown Indianapolis leads police to arrest 'Choke'
Police have arrested a graffiti vandal who they say has wreaked $100,000 in damage on businesses and other property across the city. Miguel Villanueva, 23, Richmond, Ind., was prelimiinarily charged Thursday with three counts of misdemeanor criminal...
Feds indict two for computer intrusion
A federal grand jury in Indianapolis has indicted two men on charges that they illegally accessed their former employer’s computer system for financial gain. Forty-five-year-old Scott R. Burgess of Jasper, Ind., and 39-year-old Walter D....
Car chase ends at airport as driver jumps or falls off ramp
Indianapolis resident who fled police after traffic stop is listed in serious condition A 44-year-old man fell or jumped Thursday from an elevated ramp at Indianapolis International Airport after a car chase that ended in a crash, police said....
Evidence-gathering comes under scrutiny at Reese trial
A defense lawyer challenged evidence-collection efforts Thursday during the trial of a man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Indianapolis police officer Jason Fishburn. The Porter County jury also heard from detectives Steven Scott and...
Neighbors help police nab slaying suspect
Eastside residents who knew victim provided key clues that led to woman’s arrest A tattoo, a red purse and a birthday boast. That’s all Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detectives had to work with when they found Gregory Ray...
Car chase ends at Indy airport
An Indianapolis man led Plainfield police on a car chase today from that Hendricks County town to the Indianapolis International Airport, where that man apparently jumped or fell from an elevated ramp. The injured man, tentatively identified by...
Drunken driving excuse amuses Indiana State Police
PORTAGE, Ind. — A northern Indiana driver arrested with a blood-alcohol level nearly four times Indiana’s threshold today claimed his innocence with a novel defense, police said. “Dude, I do this every night; I’m straight up...
Indianapolis cop shooting trial in Valparaiso turns to evidence collection
The trial in the shooting of Indianapolis police officer Jason Fishburn turned today to the crime scene investigation and what happened just after Fishburn was shot during a foot chase. Brian Reese, 37, is charged with attempted murder and is accused...
Police investigate assault, robbery of elderly Indianapolis couple on Northwestside
Intruders assaulted and robbed an elderly couple after barging into their Northwestside home this morning. The robbers stole a small safe with a large amount of cash, Indianapolis Metropolitan police said. Jim Williams, 74, and his wife, Nancy...
Stolen liquor trailer is found in Chicago
A truck trailer that was stolen in Indianapolis with 1,200 cases of liquor on board has been found in Chicago. The trailer was stolen late Sunday outside a Near-Southside liquor store. It was recovered early Monday. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police...
Woman held in Indy man's shooting death
A 20-year-old woman who appeared in court today to face handgun charges walked out facing an unrelated murder charge. April McKenney was arrested at 1 p.m. in Marion County Superior Court and preliminarily charged with murder, said Sgt. Paul...
Police wound Fortville man in gunfight
GREENSBURG, Ind. — State police say officers shot and seriously wounded a man in an exchange of gunfire along a southeastern Indiana highway. A Greensburg police officer reported spotting a vehicle on Interstate 74 Tuesday night that was...
SUV smashes into Eastside tavern, runs
A man drove an SUV into an Eastside bar after closing this morning. A group of five or six people who were inside the bar near the front window escaped injury. The crash happened at 3:45 at Bar 52 at 3806 English Ave., according Indianapolis Fire...
Town clerk surrenders after vanishing
LAKEVILLE, Ind. — The clerk-treasurer of a northern Indiana town has surrendered to police a week after failing to appear in court on charges he beat his girlfriend. An arrest warrant for Lakeville Clerk-Treasurer Casey Grove was issued Oct. 26...
Jury gets glimpse of shooting's effects
Wounded officer and wife are the first to testify at his alleged assailant’s trial VALPARAISO, Ind. — Jason Fishburn approached the witness stand with a limp. A curving scar covered the back of his head. He spoke softly, giving short...
Girl killed after being struck by car
A girl who celebrated her 12th birthday last weekend died when she was struck by a car on the Far Westside Tuesday night, police say. Helaina Hawkins, 1400 block of Lansdowne Road, was with a group of young people crossing the street when she was...
Man held in molestation of girl, 13
Indianapolis metropolitan police today arrested a man accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl. Rachad M. Strong, 29, was arrested without incident shortly after noon at an apartment in the 2700 block of Graham Avenue, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police...
Brizzi: Fishburn shooting was ambush
VALPARAISO, Ind. — Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi called the shooting of Indianapolis police officer Jason Fishburn an ambush at the opening of his accused assailant’s trial today in Northern Indiana. When Fishburn chased suspect...
Execution date set in Evansville killings
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court has set Dec. 11 as the execution date for a man convicted of the 1994 slayings of his estranged wife and two of her relatives in Evansville. The court said today that 49-year-old Matthew Eric Wrinkles has...
Frightened pony smacks into squad car
A free-roaming pony raced into a parked police car on the Southside this morning, damaging the car, but apparently escaping injury itself. The pony was one of two that had escaped from a farm on the 4200 block of Bluff Road and had been darting in...
