CIRCUIT COURT: Elkhart man pleads guilty to battery, burlgary
Nov. 3—GOSHEN — An Elkhart man accused of domestic battery and burglary pleaded guilty during Thursday's court proceedings.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Cristian Gomez Benitez, 23, Elkhart, violated a restraining order against his former partner, with whom he has two children, March 24.
Police responded to a call at a home at 1128 Whitfield Court in reference to Gomez Benitez allegedly inside the home with a gun, and in violation of a restraining order, at 2:18 p.m. The victim said he entered the home without permission and entered the kitchen, threatening her, before going upstairs to the bedroom, and that he had not been to the home since he was arrested in January, the charging affidavit reads.
In January, Gomez Benitez was charged with invasion of privacy and violation of a restraining order from an ongoing domestic battery case with the victim.
On March 24, when Gomez Benitez entered the home, the victim told police that she and the children left the home as soon as he went upstairs, and contacted police, despite Gomez Benitez's warning not to, and went to Victim's Assistance, the affidavit reads.
Police searched the home and found Gomez Benitez lying on a bed in a bedroom. A gun was found in the bathroom wedged between the fan and a light fixture, the affidavit reads.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 14.
ADONIS D. BLAKE
An Elkhart robbery suspect was admonished in court Thursday.
Adonis Blake, who is one of four individuals accused of robbing a man at Ashton Pines in Goshen on Oct. 6, 2020, had finished his own court proceedings for the day, with he and the judge and attorneys agreeing to reschedule his sentencing hearing scheduled for Thursday. Blake was still awaiting evaluation from Michiana Community Corrections, so the sentencing was rescheduled for Nov. 30.
Blake pleaded guilty back on Oct. 5 of the robbery. An accomplice, Morgan Carlson, 22, pleaded guilty to her part in the armed robbery and was sentenced in February.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the victim was asked by a woman he met on Snapchat for help with her car, so he met her at Ashton Pines Apartment Complex. While he was looking at the car, two men approached on foot and robbed him at gunpoint, tearing his shirt, and taking a stainless steel gold chain, his wallet, his phone and money from his glove box, according to the affidavit.
The two men then got into the car that the woman arrived in, with that woman and another who remained in the car and left.
The robbery was captured by a security camera at the front of one of the apartments, showing the group arriving together, the two men leaving the area, and the woman moving into the driver's seat. A search warrant of the cell phone number the woman used to contact the victim showed the number belonged to Blake. Officers later also accused Carlson, who was Blake's girlfriend at the time of the robbery, with the victim identifying her in a photo array.
Following his scheduled court proceedings, as another individual's hearing began, Blake could be heard over the livestream being loud and interrupting the other trial.
Elkhart County Circuit Judge Michael Christofeno brought him back, admonished him for the outburst, and Blake apologized. His sentencing hearing remains scheduled for the new date of Nov. 30.
ADRIAN A. WHITE CONNER
Adrian White Conner, 30, is accused of the burglary at KC Layne Makeup and Lash Studio, 1731 E. Bristol St., Elkhart, May 27. He saw his first day in court for the charge Thursday.
The owner of the salon reported to police on May 30, that the building had been broken into on May 27. Three women renting rooms at the building noted money bags, a checkbook, a bank bag, and several necklaces missing.
Surveillance cameras at the property identified Adrian White Conner, 30, breaking into the building.
During White Conner's initial hearing, he was appointed a public defender, and scheduled a pretrial conference for Nov. 30, an omnibus date of Dec. 28, a trial status conference for July 11, and a jury trial for Aug. 5
CHARLES H. MILLER
An Elkhart man charged with a January armed robbery in a grocery store parking lot was sentenced Thursday.
Charles Miller, 34, is charged in connection with a robbery that occurred at Kroger, 130 W. Hively Ave., Elkhart Jan. 15. He pleaded guilty to armed robbery, a Level 3 Felony, for a total of up to 12 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections between times served, probation, and home detention.
According to an affidavit, a caller contacted police to inform them of a robbery in progress and told them the man was last seen running northbound behind Kroger and had hopped a fence continuing north behind Pierre Moran Public Library, 2400 Benham Ave. The caller also advised that the man had taken a woman's purse and threatened him with a knife.
An officer, court records read, located a man matching the description offered to police who appeared to have blood on his hands and a pocket knife sticking out of his waistband, blade up. According to the affidavit, the victim said she'd been returning to her car with her daughter and heard someone enter the backseat.
The man demanded the keys to her vehicle or told her to start driving (the two women did not agree), but she refused so he pulled out a knife and brought it to her neck, the affidavit reads. Her passenger grabbed a hold of the man's arm that was holding the knife, the court record reads, and then he attempted to cut the driver's hands — although her hands and the gloves she was wearing did not develop cuts on them.
She told police at that point she opened the driver's side door and dropped the keys on the ground outside the vehicle. The man reportedly walked around to the driver's side door and took her Coach purse, containing two Coach wallets, an iPhone, $74, and three silver rings, off the floorboard and left. Police found the purse in a nearby recycling container and returned the items to her. Miller denied any involvement but pleaded guilty in October to the crime.
Miller was sentenced by plea bargain to a total of 12 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections with three years suspended and three on reporting probation.
JACK R. BYRER
A burglary suspect, Jack Byrer, 32, was sentenced by plea agreement Thursday.
Byrer was arrested in February for a burglary that took place Aug. 9, 2022. His initial hearing wasn't until early September. As a result, Byrer had filed, without an attorney, a motion for speedy trial. Byrer explained to the judge that he requested a speedy trial because he is currently incarcerated at Westville Correctional Facility with multiple charges out of multiple counties, and he was told that the best option to get in front of the judge was to file it.
According to the Elkhart County Sheriff's Office, a woman contacted them Aug. 22, 2022, to report items taken from her personal storage unit at 68247 Ind. 15. Surveillance footage from New Paris Storage for Aug. 9 showed a man driving a U-Haul pick-up truck driving from the storage unit with multiple items in the bed of the truck.
A detective met with Byrer at Kosciusko County Jail, where he asked for a lawyer and allegedly acknowledged renting the truck and taking the items because he was high on meth, according to court records.
Due to a past criminal history, Byrer was sentenced to four years at the Indiana Department of Corrections.
TONY R. SOMMERS
A burglary suspect was appointed a public defender for his charge of burglarizing Elkhart Hinge, 1839 Lusher Ave, Elkhart, during his initial hearing in Elkhart Circuit Court.
Tony Sommers, 57, is accused of stealing two sections of exhaust from a Ford E-350 at the property March 13.
A neighbor told police he saw a man pull into the alley nearby and break in through the fence. Later on, police pulled over a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle and attempted to stop the vehicle but it fled the scene, leading police on a pursuit ultimately crashing off the roadway near Fairfax Avenue before the suspect attempted to flee on foot.
The man was identified as Sommers, who, according to police, was found with four catalytic converters, two that police determined came from the truck at Elkhart Hinge.
Sommers' pretrial conference is scheduled for Nov. 30, omnibus date for Dec. 28, trial status conference for July 11, and a jury trial for Aug. 5
TYLER A. FOUST
Tyler Foust, 23, who is accused of auto theft was appointed a public defender during his initial hearing Thursday.
On Dec. 12, police were called to 116 S. Main St., Elkhart, for a stolen vehicle. The owner told police he'd gone outside to start his car, went back in, and when he came back outside, the car was gone.
Police located the vehicle leaving Washington Gardens with two men matching descriptions from nearby security footage, and attempted to pull the vehicle over. Suspects fled the scene, eventually coming to a stop near 5 Points Road and Grange Street in Michigan.
The driver was identified as Tyler Foust, and the passenger was identified as Charles Miller. Foust has a prior conviction for auto theft in June 2021.
Foust's pretrial conference is scheduled for Nov. 30, omnibus date for Dec. 28, a trial status conference for July 11, and a jury trial for Aug. 5
DANIEL J. BRADLEY
A further proceedings hearing was rescheduled for a man charged with burglary after a homeowner allegedly found him sleeping in her garage, drunk on her beer.
Daniel Bradley, 44, San Diego, California, is charged with burglary, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm as a violent felon from the July 1 incident.
Elkhart City Police responded to a call about a burglary in progress at 1723 Greenleaf Blvd. There, the homeowner told officers a man, later identified as Bradley, was sleeping in her garage.
The homeowner told officers that when she arrived home around 12:20 a.m., her garage door was locked, but she didn't lock it. She found Bradley asleep and immediately contacted the police, noting that her tools had been moved out of cabinets and drawers in the garage, according to the charging affidavit. Bradley also allegedly drank hard seltzers she'd had in the garage fridge.
While escorting handcuffed Bradley to the patrol vehicle, he reportedly told officers on the scene that he was drunk and could not walk. While searching him, according to the affidavit, officers found a red credit card-sized pouch with meth inside, and three drill bits, which the homeowner claimed were stolen from her collection of tools in the garage.
A further proceedings was reset for Dec. 21, with a trial status conference for Feb. 8, jury trial for March 4.
Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.
