The body of a 53 year old Highland man was found this morning at Highway Avenue and 1^st Street in Highland, on the railroad tracks, without a head. The Lake County Coroner's office reports Thomas Crnkovich died as a result of trauma to the neck, and his death has been ruled a suicide. The Coroner's Office reports an investigative team was dispatched at 7:20 this morning, and pronounced the man deceased at 8am.
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Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller today announced an agreement has been reached with Penguin Group Inc. to settle allegations that the book publisher colluded, along with other major publishers and Apple Inc., to manipulate prices in the E-book market. Zoeller says if approved by the U-S District Court, Indiana's consumers who purchased E-books published by Penguin will receive one-point-one-five million dollars in total refunds via their E-book accounts, as well as benefit from restored competitiveness within the E-book marketplace. Indiana has previously settled with four other publishers, and Zoeller says together, these five settlements will result in Indiana consumers receiving two-point-seven million dollars in refunds.
Indiana's antitrust action based on the same allegations against Apple Inc. remains pending, with a trial scheduled next month.
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Six members of the Latin Kings street gang were sentenced this week in Hammond Federal Court for racketeering conspiracy, along with a former Chicago Police officer. The indictments charge that the gang members were responsible for more than 20 murders, including the deaths of of two Latin Dragon members in Griffith in February of 2007. 42 year old Antonio Martinez Jr. was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and according to court records, committed armed robberies on behalf of the Latin Kings along with another officer, at times while in uniform and driving police-issued vehicles.
In total, 23 Latin King members and associates have been indicted in this case, with 14 having already been sentenced, and of the nine remaining, seven have pled guilty, one case was dismissed, and one is a fugitive.
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The Cook County Sheriff's Department will be among a host of law enforcement agencies conducting enhanced enforcement efforts this Memorial Day weekend. Sheriff Tom Dart says deputies will be focusing on seat belt and DUI violators, and that officers will also be conducting extra patrols looking for all types of suspected violations. During the 2012 Memorial Day weekend, there were six fatalities, three of which were alcohol related, and almost 600 injuries on Illinois roadways, that according to provisional numbers from the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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Police in LaPorte are reminding residents to never give out personal information over the phone or agree to send money in order to claim a prize after a 59 year old man reported being the victim of a telemarketing scam Thursday. Police say the man informed them that on Monday, a man who identified himself as “Walter Lopez” told the victim he was calling on behalf of Publisher's Clearing house, claiming the victim had won 250-thousand dollars and a new vehicle, but in order to claim the prize, he had to obtain a PayPal card in the amount of 350 dollars and call back with the card number as part of a service fee. The victim ended up doing this two more times to cover other so called “fees”, shelling out a total of 850 dollars before he called Publisher's Clearinghouse and learned no one from the business had contacted him and that they never ask prize winners to send money to claim winnings.
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[Photo courtesy Barbara Hiestand]
We're told Lowell fire crews were on scene about two hours after responding to a fire involving multiple cars on a semi car-hauler on State Road 2 just east of I-65 in Lowell around 7-o'clock this morning. Flames and thick black smoke could be seen at the scene. Lowell was assisted by Hebron Fire. There were no immediate reports of any injuries, and there is no word on what caused the fire at this time
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The Boy Scouts of America will no longer prohibit gay youths from participating. A vote on Thursday lifts the ban effective January of 2014. Gay adults remain barred from scout leadership.   The Boy Scouts of America councils of Chicagoland issued this statement regarding Thursday's decision:
Scouting's focus in Chicagoland remains to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. The information we have provided on this issue helped provide perspective to the process, and we respect the integrity of the national decision-making process. As leaders of Scouting in Chicagoland, we believe this update to our policy will allow all kids who sincerely want to be a part of Scouting to experience this life-changing program while remaining true to the long-standing virtues of Scouting. While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting.  We believe good people can disagree and still work together to accomplish great things for youth. Going forward, we will work to stay focused on that which unites us.
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Over the Memorial Day weekend,  Indiana State Police will be participating in “Operation CARE”, (Combined Accident Reduction Effort), and “SWDUIEP”, (Statewide Driving Under the Influence Project). Troopers will be specifically looking for drivers who speed, follow too closely, make unsafe lane changes, and fail to buckle up or to properly restrain children. Troopers will also be aggressively looking for impaired drivers.  Indiana State Police will also be participating in the “Click it or Ticket” enforcement campaign through June 2nd. The campaign will include not only the Indiana State Police, but more than 250 local law enforcement agencies throughout the state.
Additionally, troopers and motor carrier inspectors will work extra hours to ensure commercial motor vehicles are operating safely. Their efforts will concentrate on enforcing traffic, logbook, size, weight and mechanical violations as well as illegal interstate parking.
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The Cedar Lake Town Council has removed “interim” from Police Chief Jerry Smith's title. Smith, a longtime Cedar Lake police officer and a former town councilman, had been serving as interim chief since former Chief Randall Majersky left the position last fall. Smith's appointment was unanimously approved recently by the town's police commission. Smith is a native of Cedar Lake, served in the Marine Corps, and joined the police force when he returned.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Beach Hazards statement for the Lake Michigan shoreline in the Region.  High waves and life-threatening rip currents are expected through this evening.  Meteorologists say strong north to northeast winds will gust to 30 to 35 mph this morning before diminishing into the afternoon. Waves of 6 to 9 ft with occasional larger waves are expected tol gradually subside through the evening. Officials say the winds and waves will create dangerous conditions at Lake Michigan beaches.
Officials say rip currents are powerful channels of water flowing quickly away from shore...which occur most often at low spots or breaks in sandbars, and rip currents can sweep you out lakeward.
For updates and additional information from the National Weather Service:
http://forecast.weather.gov/hazards/lot
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