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Becker: Crime in E.C. at record lows
SARAH REESE
sarah.reese@nwi.com, (219) 933-3351‌
EAST CHICAGO | Crime in East Chicago
continued to decrease in the first quarter of 2015 after hitting a 30-year low last
year, Police Chief Mark Becker said.
Overall crime from January through
March fell by 17 percent compared to the
same period a year ago, Becker said.
A total of 243 crimes were submitted
to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for
the first quarter of 2015, Becker said. By
comparison, overall crime totals were
287 in 2014 and 390 in 2013.
A recent internal audit of UCR statistics found overall crime totals in 2014
fell to the lowest level since at least 1985,
Becker said. Crime totals in 2013 were
the lowest since 1995.
“I credit not only the efforts of the
men and women of this department,
but the community that has engaged
and partnered in our efforts to keep East
Chicago a safe place to live, work and/or
visit,” Becker said in a news release.
The department recently conducted
an internal audit of crime data and
worked with the FBI to identify the most
accurate information available, Becker
said.
Overall crime includes violent and
property crimes.
During the first quarter of 2015, violent crime in East Chicago fell by 8 percent, from 48 in 2014 to 44 this year.
Violent crimes include murder, rape,
robbery and aggravated assault.
The city has not logged a murder so
far this year. The last time zero murders
were reported in the first quarter was
2012.
One fine day
In this file photo, East
Chicago Chief Of Police
Mark Becker makes
a traffic stop in Merrillville while on patrol
with the STOP team.
JONATHAN MIANO,
TIMES FILE PHOTO
Property crimes, including burglary,
larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson,
decreased by 15 percent. A total of 199
property crimes have been reported so
far this year, compared to 287 during the
same period last year.
Becker, who retired from the FBI and
Who could resist
Friday’s warm spring
temperatures?
served as Portage police chief before
being appointed East Chicago’s top cop
in 2012, said joint investigations with the
FBI and other federal law enforcement
agencies and the U.S. attorney’s office
have led to the indictments and convictions of dozens of gang members.
S’ville
firefighter
facing
charges
Female cop claims
she was slammed
into a pile of snow
ELVIA MALAGON
elvia.malagon@nwi.com, (219) 662-5331‌
CROWN POINT | A Schererville firefighter
is accused of slamming a town police
officer into a pile of snow in February,
police said.
Kevin S. Stumpe, 38, of Dyer, was
charged Wednesday with battery, a
Level 6 felony. A warrant was issued
for his arrest.
Schererville police Officer Jennifer
Zukley and Stumpe responded at 1:27
a.m. Feb. 22 to an alarm call in the 5000
block of 92nd Avenue in Schererville.
Three other firefighters also responded
to the call.
Zukley was standing near the
entrance of the building waiting for
the firefighters to leave when Stumpe
asked if she knew what a white wash is,
according to the affidavit.
He motioned for her to go outside
after she told him she didn’t know
what he was talking about. While outside, Stumpe squeezed her neck and
slammed her into a pile of hardened
snow, according to the affidavit.
Zukley told detectives she repeatedly
told Stumpe to stop and tried to resist
going into the snow, according to court
records. She said Stumpe didn’t say
anything to her and then left the scene.
Schererville Fire Chief Joe Kruzan
declined to comment on the incident.
He said he couldn’t comment on if
Stumpe is still part of the department.
Zukley, who has been an officer
since 1995, has a pending sexual discrimination lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court against Schererville town
officials.
The lawsuit alleges all women were
removed in 2012 from supervisory
positions within the police department
and replaced by men. She also alleges
she isn’t given the same assistance on
calls as her male colleagues, according
to the lawsuit.
RIGHT: Ray Cutler, of St. John,
takes advantage of a beautiful
spring day to take Cooper, his St.
Bernard, for a walk at Centennial
Park in Munster.
ABOVE: Elizabeth Moorhouse and
her 5-year-old son Bruce meet
Cooper while also enjoying the
park.
JOHN J. WATKINS
PHOTOS, THE TIMES
E.C. police charge parent under
new anti-truancy program
EAST CHICAGO | Charges against a parent
recently were filed for the first time under
East Chicago’s year-old anti-truancy program, an official said.
Police charged Rosalinda Perez with a
Class A misdemeanor April after an attendance officer at West Side Junior High
School notified police that Perez’s 14-yearold student had 15 unexcused absences
and a total of 30 missed days from school,
Police Chief Mark Becker said.
Police, the School City of East Chicago
and other agencies began the anti-truancy
program, called Operation Stay Smart,
about a year ago.
The program “remains a work in progress,” Becker said, but is intended to better
address and resolve truancy issues.
Truancy often leads to more serious
problems such as drug use and crime, he
said.
Becker said the school district had
made several attempts to encourage Perez
to ensure he child attends school but was
unsuccessful. She is scheduled to appear
May 27 in East Chicago City Court.
—
TIMES STAFF
M’ville man says he
wasn’t part of crime ring
ELVIA MALAGON
elvia.malagon@nwi.com, (219) 662-5331‌
CROWN POINT | A Merrillville man who had
been accused of being part of a crime ring
targeting CSX railroad on Friday entered a
pre-trial diversion program.
Derrick O. Frazier, 46, was accused of
stealing a 2013 Toyota Camry he rented
from a Hertz Rent-A-Car in Merrillville,
according to court records. The vehicle
was rented Sept. 3, 2013, and was supposed to be returned Sept. 21, 2013.
Frazier was accused of not returning
the vehicle despite letters sent to him
by the company. He was pulled over by
county officers Dec. 10, 2013, while driving the vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The charges were filed in March 2014.
The Lake County prosecutor’s office
dismissed Friday the charge of auto theft,
a Class D felony, as part of the agreement.
Prosecutors filed a charge of conversion,
a Class A misdemeanor, but will withhold
prosecution for a year.
If Frazier does not pick up any new
charges, the conversion charge will also
be dismissed.
Defense attorney Robin Remley told
Lake County Criminal Judge Salvador
Vasquez her client was inaccurately tied
to a crime ring during the time of his
arrest.
During a Lake County Sheriff ’s
Department news conference in March
2014, Frazier was named as a suspect
accused of working with a group to steal
$2.8 million in valuables from CSX railroad.
The suspects were accused of working
together to steal millions worth of pharmaceuticals, 18 vehicles and two motorcycles from rail yards.
Frazier told Vasquez he was not part of
the ring. Court records for his case do not
mention the ring targeting CSX railroad.
Munster man killed in
head-on crash at casino
GARY | An 83-year-old Munster man
was killed in a head-on crash Friday
morning at Majestic Star Casino, officials said.
John Linnane, of the 1600 block of
Holly Lane, was pronounced dead at
10:11 a.m. at the scene of the accident,
Lake County Coroner Merrilee Frey
said in a statement.
The cause of death was listed as
blunt force trauma suffered in a motor
vehicle accident at Majestic Star
Casino, 1 Buffington Harbor in Gary.
Sgt. Thomas Decanter of the Gary
Police Department said Linnane was
driving a Toyota Corolla just before
9:30 a.m. Friday on his way into the
casino when, for an unknown reason,
he crossed the center line and hit an
oncoming Ford Expedition head on.
The woman driving the Ford was
pinned in her vehicle and had to be
extricated by Gary Fire Department
crews. She lost a tooth but was otherwise uninjured, Decanter said.
— TIMES STAFF