Court briefs: Acquittal in drug slaying; man charged with assault

Michael Baker was acquitted Friday in the Jan. 21, 2023 murder of Demetri Russell, 29.

Deputy Prosecutors Judy Massa and John Holmen argued he killed Russell while selling him drugs inside a building on the 500 block of Chase Street in Gary.

Court records allege Baker was selling Codeine and Promethazine. A witness, Edwon Bush, previously testified that he and Baker, a.k.a. “Money Mike,” were driving around Gary, while Baker was selling drugs. Bush stayed in the car and saw Russell in an open doorway before he heard a couple of shots.

There was arguing over a price before Russell punched Baker in the face twice. Baker took out a gun then shot him twice with a .45-caliber Glock and fled. Baker was selling “4 lines” for $80 and Russell wanted to pay $60, according to the affidavit.

Baker’s defense lawyer Russell Brown wrote in court filings that Demetri Russell told an off-duty detective working security at Methodist that “My friend Mike” shot him. One of the case’s detectives testified the other officer never told him that.

Brown argued Bush couldn’t have seen anything from his vantage point and was motivated to get a break in his federal gun case. Bush denied that in his testimony.

A Gary man faces charges for assaulting a woman in her apartment.

Gerald Johnson, 30, was charged on Oct. 19 with rape and sexual battery. His next court date is Oct. 29 before Judge Natalie Bokota.

Gary Police responded on Oct. 17 to the city’s Miller section.

The victim told police that Johnson stayed with her after he got evicted. That day, she came home at 11 a.m., he was “acting weird.” She started filming him on her phone. Johnson put his hands down her pants and assaulted her.

He later told a detective he regretted what he did, charges state.

A Hammond man’s bid for bail in his estranged wife’s girlfriend’s murder was denied Monday, records show.

Malik Bunch, 27, was indicted by a grand jury in September 2023 for 25-year-old Jéla Cooper’s March 2022 death in her Merrillville apartment at the Whitcomb Terrace Apartments. He is charged with two counts of murder and one count of theft. Court records also accuse Bunch of stealing her iPhone and jewelry.

He has pleaded not guilty. A trial date is not yet scheduled. Cooper’s body was found on March 28, 2022, after cops did a wellness check. Her last text messages were sent on March 26.

A Hammond man is facing charges for sending sexual photos to a 13-year-old on Instagram.

Gabriel Ibarra, 27, was charged Monday with child solicitation and inappropriate communication with a child. He is in custody, held without bail.

East Chicago Police responded to the city’s Southside section just before 3:30 a.m. Oct. 20, where they found Ibarra walking near an alley “going for a walk,” he said.

After saying he was “lonely” and going to meet a 26-year-old woman, he admitted it was a girl, 13. Court records show he messaged her between Oct. 1 and 20.

The girl, with a 15-year-old friend, said Ibarra said in a message he wanted to have sex and “rape” her, the affidavit states. When he sent a photo of the front door, saying he was outside, the friend told her mom.

Police noted “several deleted messages” between them.

An East Chicago man faces charges for selling fentanyl-laced crack cocaine in a woman’s overdose death.

Arvell Greer was charged on Oct. 10 with one count of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death and eight counts of dealing cocaine. His next court date is Wednesday.

The woman, Jazmine Garcia, 31, of Fort Wayne and formerly Hammond, was pronounced dead on April 13, 2023, at St. Catherine’s in East Chicago. The Lake County Coroner’s Office ruled she died from an accidental drug overdose.

Co-defendant Emecghia James admitted buying nearly $250 worth of crack cocaine from Greer in separate transactions for Garcia, who paid him in a cash app.

“I think they gave me something,” Garcia told a witness on the 2800 block of 165th Street in Hammond before she overdosed.

Greer drove James and Garcia to the home on the 2800 block of 165th Street in Hammond for Garcia to do drugs with a friend, the affidavit states. Cellphone pings put James and Greer in the area, the affidavit states.

The law is usually used to charge drug dealers in an overdose death. Hammond Police Detective John Riordan wrote James’ case fit that definition because he argued he did “transfer” drugs to Garcia.

Garcia battled addiction for 18 years, according to her obituary.

Greer previously pleaded guilty to cocaine dealing in 53-year-old Michael Fromm’s January 2021 murder in a north Hammond drug house, records show. He was released from jail in 2022 and successfully finished probation in March, court filings show.

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