CROWN POINT

Lake council may raise fee for accident reports

Lake County Council members are set Tuesday to vote on whether to increase the fee charged for a copy of a county police accident report. Councilman Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, proposes charging county residents $15 and nonresidents $20 for a report. The current fee is $5.

The council also may vote Tuesday on whether to impose a new $100 fee on landlords -- in addition to $89 in currently authorized court fees -- seeking court-ordered evictions of tenants.

The council passed the fee last month, but the Lake County Board of Commissioners vetoed it on grounds it was an unfair burden on owners of rental properties. The council can override the veto if five of its seven members vote to do so.

CROWN POINT

E.C. man sentenced to 8 years for drug deal

An East Chicago man was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for dealing cocaine, the Lake County prosecutor's office said.

Donta Lamont Jones, 24, pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to the felony charge.

Jones sold crack cocaine on Jan. 16 in East Chicago, prosecutors said.

CROWN POINT

Hammond man guilty in burglary of home

A Hammond man was convicted Thursday afternoon of burglarizing a police officer's home, Lake Criminal Court records state.

James Higgason III, 39, was found guilty of a felony count of burglary after the jury deliberated about two hours.

He pleaded guilty to being a habitual offender after the jury's verdict came in, the Lake County prosecutor's office said.

Higgason also was charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting law enforcement and battery on a law enforcement officer, but those charges were dismissed before the trial.

Hammond police said Higgason burglarized the Hammond home in April. Higgason still has other cases pending, records show.

He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 15.

CROWN POINT

Valpo man charged in three cases of rape

A Valparaiso man was charged Thursday in Lake Criminal Court with raping and beating up a prostitute after he picked her up, Lake Criminal Court records state.

Timothy Farmer, 24, faces felony counts of rape and criminal confinement for the Nov. 18 incident in Gary.

According to court records:

He already faces nine felonies for two other alleged Gary incidents -- three counts of battery and two counts each of attempted rape, confinement and intimidation.

In the first incident, the woman told police she was walking Nov. 10 in the 3900 block of Massachusetts Street when a man, later identified as Farmer, pulled up and offered her a ride. She accepted and gave him directions.

As they drove, Farmer asked the woman if she "tricked," and she said yes. Farmer tried to negotiate a price in return for sexual favors, but the woman told him she wasn't interested.

When she tried to leave, he said he would kill her unless she "gave it to him," prosecutors said. He hit her in the head multiple times with a knife, but she managed to get out of the car and escape.

In the Nov. 18 incident, the woman told police she was at 40th Avenue and Massachusetts Street in Gary when Farmer pulled up and offered her $50 for sex. The woman got in Farmer's car and he told her that she gives "other white women a bad name."

He pulled a knife and told the woman he had used it to kill three others. He raped her, beat her with brass knuckles and tried to cut her face with the knife. He then dropped her back off on the street.

On Nov. 25, a different woman was walking in Gary when a man -- later identified as Farmer -- pulled up and offered her a ride. The woman declined and kept walking.

When she said no again, he got out and tried to force her into his vehicle, grabbing her hair while brandishing a knife and brass knuckles.

The woman told Farmer she was pregnant, and he threatened to kill her and the baby unless she got into the car. The woman feigned going into labor, and Farmer fled.

CROWN POINT

Chicago man charged in alcohol-related crash

A Chicago man was charged Thursday with a drunken driving crash that injured a pregnant woman, Lake Criminal Court records state.

Michael Stahl, 50, was charged with one felony count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and seven misdemeanor counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, court records state.

According to an account by police:

Stahl was driving a Jeep Wrangler on Nov. 5, 2007, at the intersection of Indianapolis Boulevard and Casino Center Drive when he plowed through a red light and hit a car with a couple and three children inside.

The female driver, who was 18 weeks pregnant, was pinned inside the Ford Explorer. Her fiancee and three children were able to get out.

A witness told police Stahl staggered out of his car after the accident. His blood-alcohol concentration was 0.16 -- double the legal limit.

Stahl apologized for "making a bad decision" and asked if he hurt the family "bad."

The woman suffered a broken bone in her neck, a broken cervical vertebra and several minor injuries.