Courts

  • Ex-online sweetheart in stalking trial
    A 42-year-old Waterloo man went on trial Tuesday, accused of stalking a woman he met through an online dating service.
  • Temporary insanity offered in slaying
    Awaiting trial in March on a charge of murder, Manuel Silva filed a motion on his own behalf, asking to be able to claim temporary insanity in the beating death of 39-year-old Christopher Deaton last spring.
  • Battery, gun crimes draw 13 years
    Allen Superior Court Judge John Surbeck sentenced a local man Monday to a total of 13 years in prison for offenses including intimidation, possession of a handgun and battery.
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3 admit weapons charges

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that three Fort Wayne men have pleaded guilty to weapons charges in U.S. District Court:

  • Christopher Granger, 33, was sentenced by Judge Theresa Springmann to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted of burglary in 1995 in Madison Circuit Court and will forfeit a .380-caliber handgun, a .380-caliber magazine and four live rounds of ammunition, the announcement said.
  • Deshawn Smith, 22, was sentenced by Springmann to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting another who knowingly made a false statement during a straw purchase of a firearm. Smith accompanied a woman to the store, told her which gun he wanted and provided the cash because he could not make the purchase himself, the announcement said.
  • Tracey L. Martin, 31, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was convicted of robbery and carjacking in Allen Superior Court in 1997. Upon conviction, Martin will forfeit a 9 mm handgun with a magazine and 17 rounds of ammunition; and 34 rounds of Fiocchi .25-caliber ammunition, four rounds of Winchester 9 mm Luger ammunition, 74 rounds of Remington .40-caliber Smith and Wesson ammunition, and 28 rounds of Remington .380-caliber ammunition, the announcement said.