A 35-year-old man from Chicago is facing multiple felony charges in Porter County after authorities say he led police on a high-speed pursuit and intentionally rammed several squad cars, injuring an officer. Rene S. Cardona was charged following the incident, which court documents say began around 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 19, 2026, in the Willowcreek … Read more
A 41-year-old man from Crown Point has been charged in Porter County following an early-morning crash near Valparaiso, according to court records. Joshua Pagel is accused in connection with a collision that occurred around 12:21 a.m. Feb. 21 at 500 West 100 South in Valparaiso. Authorities said the vehicle was found off the roadway with … Read more
Officers with the Hammond Police Department are investigating a shooting reported Monday afternoon in Hammond. Police said officers responded around 1:25 p.m. to the 7000 block of Van Buren Street after receiving reports of gunfire. Preliminary findings indicate the shooting involved individuals who were known to each other. During the incident, an adult man was … Read more
Brandon Leandrews Robinson, 33, of Hammond, is facing multiple felony charges after police say he stabbed two men in separate incidents just minutes apart on Feb. 12, 2026 — first inside a grocery store and later at the scene of a traffic crash on 165th Street. According to court records, the first incident happened around … Read more
Julia Lashay Watkins, 29, of Gary, is facing multiple felony charges in Lake County after police say methamphetamine and other narcotics were discovered on her body following a traffic stop in Hobart. According to court records, the investigation began around 3:42 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2026, when officers observed a silver Chevrolet HHR weaving through … Read more
Troopers with the Indiana State Police responded around 5:15 p.m. Saturday to a three-vehicle crash on northbound I-65 at the 253.6 mile-marker beneath the 73rd Avenue overpass. The crash involved a yellow bus towing a passenger car, an SUV and a pickup truck. Authorities said the bus was a retired school bus that had been … Read more
Elias R. Thomas of East Chicago faces felony charges after police say he fired a rifle into an occupied apartment while a mother and her two juvenile children were inside. According to court documents, East Chicago Police responded on February 5, 2026, to the 4400 block of Olcott Avenue for a report of shots fired. … Read more
Joseph Edward Romano, 47, of Merrillville, faces felony charges after police say surveillance footage shows him breaking into a secured construction site on two separate occasions and later selling the stolen steel at a Gary scrap yard. According to the probable cause affidavit, Hammond Police responded to investigate two burglaries at a commercial construction site … Read more
Anthony John Coffey, 24, of Monee, Illinois, faces multiple felony charges after Lake County Sheriff’s officers say he led police on a high-speed chase across several Lake County roadways that ended on an interstate ramp in Highland, leaving an Indiana State Trooper seriously injured. According to the probable cause affidavit, the incident began around 2:30 … Read more
A Lake County jury found Hakeem Pittman guilty on multiple felony charges stemming from a child molestation investigation, and a judge has now sentenced him to 67 years in the Indiana Department of Correction. The court handed down the sentence in Lake County Superior Court. Pittman was convicted of the following offenses: • Count I: … Read more