Two men sentenced to more than 60 years each

Feb. 22—GOSHEN — Two men deemed guilty of murder during a bench trial on Jan. 23 were sentenced to over 60 years.

Alvin Sanders III, 21, and Da'Quavion Wiley, 18, had a joint bench trial in September, and were convicted for the May 1, 2021, shooting death of a 15-year-old boy, Woody Jerrell Lewis, who was found outside a McKinley Avenue home in Elkhart, shot in the neck.

Wiley did not attend the sentencing hearing. He also did not present a defense during the trial. His public defender Matthew Johnson told the judge that while not uncooperative during their discussion, Wiley told him ahead of time that he would not be attending. Elkhart County Circuit Judge Michael Christofeno affirmed that defendants are not required to attend and could be sentenced despite being absent. Christofeno also said he would not hold Wiley's lack of attendance against him.

Sanders, however, did attend his sentencing, which was separate from Wiley's. Like during the bench trial, Sanders affirmed his innocence to the judge.

"I understand somebody lost their life," Sanders told the judge at sentencing, "but now two young black men are being sent away, for something neither one of us did and that's all due to the systematic failure of the Elkhart County justice system. ... One day I do hope that Woody's family can find true justice for him because me and Da'Quavion being sent away is not justice at all."

During the trial, Sanders told the judge that while he was in the area during the shooting, he ducked to protect himself when he heard the gunshots, but, according to court records, Sanders had also told investigators several stories that differed from each other and the one he told the judge in court in September. Furthermore, Sanders claimed that Wiley wasn't even at the scene of the shooting.

Keandre Marquez Baker, 21, was also believed to have been involved in the shooting, but Baker was found dead from a separate shooting incident on July 3, 2022, in the 600 block of West Cleveland Avenue.

"The evidence shows that Mr. Wiley and the others planned this attack because his co-defendant, Mr. Sanders, dropped the three off at the corner and then Mr. Wiley and the others chased and hunted the three boys, and the victim, Woody Lewis, was murdered at the end of the shooting," Christofeno said.

"The huge aggravator for me is the fact that the victim Woody Lewis was a minor," Christofeno added to each of the defendants. "This shooting was cavalier just like the attitude that the defendant displayed in court, and in the video he made less than 45 minutes before the murder of Woody Lewis. A totally senseless killing that has left two families completely decimated."

Sanders was sentenced to the advisory sentence of 55 years with an eight 8-year enhancement, for a total of 63 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections. Wiley was sentenced to 55 years with an enhancement of only 7 years for a total of 62 years to the Indiana Department of Corrections.

NICHOLE M. NEELY and OWEN L. MILLER

Elkhart parents Nichole Neely and Owen Miller had an initial hearing with Magistrate Eric Ditton from the jail Thursday morning. They're being charged in the death of their 6-month-old child.

Police visited their home in the 24000 block of Idlewood Avenue after a neighbor reported to 911 that the father, Owen Miller, 43, came to him seeking medical assistance for the baby.

Another neighbor went to the home and found the baby unconscious and began CPR.

The mother, Nichole Neely, 42, told police she'd left the baby in the bedroom for about 10 minutes and came back to Miller and the baby asleep on the bed, and realized the baby was limp and not breathing.

Among the trash, rotting food and gnats throughout the home, police also noted in court documents, a baby bottle containing a brownish colored liquid with a fly inside.

The baby was hospitalized. At the hospital, Miller exhibited signs of overdose and he was administered Narcan, the probably cause affidavit reads. The baby was pronounced dead half an hour after initial police arrival.

The Elkhart County Homicide Unit took over the investigation and found Neely at the home high on meth, the affidavit reads. Neely told police that the baby was born premature at home, and that she breastfed him.

An autopsy of the baby showed fentanyl and meth in the baby's system, diaper rash, acute pulmonary edema, and staphylococcus epidermidis, the probable cause affidavit reads. The autopsy determined the cause of death to be acute fentanyl and meth toxicity. Other children at the home were treated at the hospital for fentanyl poisoning.

TYREN ALLEN

Allen was picked up on Feb. 13 for a theft at Walmart on Nov. 16. The misdemeanor theft was the lowest of his charges. After he was arrested, Allen was held to testify in the murder trial of Sherman Whitener this week. Whitener was found guilty in the July, 8, 2021, murder of Deontae Harris on Wednesday.

It's alleged that Allen harbored or assisted Sherman Whitener Jr. in the murder of Harris when he took something from Harris' body following the shooting. Police believe it was a gun. Allen said during the trial that it was a phone or keys but couldn't remember, but the driver of the vehicle Harris was in said his phone and his keys were both left in his car.

Allen is charged with assisting a criminal who assisted in or committed murder, a Level 5 felony; and obstruction of justice, a Level 6 Felony.

Allen was appointed a public defender during his initial hearing on Thursday in Elkhart County Circuit Court.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for March 21, omnibus date of April 18, trial status conference Oct. 10, with jury and bench trials Nov. 4.

BLAKE K. REFFETT

An Elkhart man was sentenced to a total of four years, with three on probation for charges of intimidation and animal cruelty after pleading guilty to an attack on his mother's dog in March 2022.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Blake Reffett, 20, Elkhart, was arrested after his mother contacted Elkhart Police Department advising that she saw her son engaging in a sexual act with her dog, pinned on the couch, at 811 Liberty St., Elkhart, March 11, 2022. She also told police that he had grabbed a hammer and told her to sit on the couch and not to get up or call the police otherwise he would hit her in the face with the hammer, kill her and then burn her, the affidavit reads. Officers observed the dog to have red marks and blood on him.

A veterinarian reported to the police department a preliminary diagnosis of trauma to the dog, including trauma around the dog's foreskin, the affidavit reads. Officers conducting a search warrant at the property later on June 10, also indicated in the affidavit they heard Reffett making reference to place a hit on his mother.

Refferr pleaded guilty to intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and cruelty to an animal, a Level 6 felony. A charge of bestiality, a Level 6 felony, was dropped.

SIARRA L. PONTIUS

A woman who admitted to robbing a gas station with a knife was sentenced to a total of 12 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections, with two suspended on reporting probation on Thursday in Elkhart County Circuit Court.

Siarra Pontius, 20, Elkhart, pleaded guilty to a robbery at 7-Eleven, 2805 Toledo Road, Elkhart, June 2.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the cashier at the gas station told police by a translator that Pontius held up the cashier with a knife around midnight June 2. The suspect walked around behind the counter and removed cash from the register and ran into the woods west of the business. Approximately $300 to $500 in cash was taken.

"High on cocaine or not, to walk into a place in our community and threaten somebody with a knife for cigarettes and a couple hundred dollars in cash is really just disgraceful," Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kathleen Claeys said.

Pontius said before sentencing that she regretted putting the victim in danger and realized her mistakes.

According to the affidavit, the cashier had also told police that Pontius is known by employees for shoplifting from the store and believed she lived at the 20 East Apartments, 2125 Toledo Road, Elkhart. A witness who had been entering the parking lot immediately following the robbery told police that he'd seen a red passenger car leaving at a high rate of speed, flagged officers down at the apartment complex, and indicated to them that he saw the same vehicle pulling into the complex and a woman "running for her life" from the vehicle into an apartment across the parking lot.

The vehicle was registered to a man currently incarcerated at the Elkhart County Jail, and officers knew the man was in a relationship with Pontius and that she drove the vehicle, and confirmed her address to be at the apartments.

Around 2:24 a.m., Pontius was detained at the complex and through a search warrant, found two packs of Newports in a washing machine along with $107 in cash, and $50 wadded up in a 5-year-old's mattress. Pontius was also identified by the business owner from a surveillance photo.

ANTHONY R.A. AKER

One of two Elkhart men charged in Elkhart County Circuit Court in connection with a burglary and auto theft from Sept. 21 was sentenced to three years probation and two years on home detention during Thursday's Circuit Court proceedings. Anthony R.A. Aker, 19, pleaded guilty to burglary, a level 5 felony, and auto theft, a level 6 felony.

Aker told Elkhart County Circuit Court Judge Michael Christofeno that he messed up, and trusted people he shouldn't have trusted, alleging they'd told him to move the cars around and he didn't realize they were stolen.

His partner in the crime, Landon A. Gibson, 19, was sentenced by plea to a total of five years at the Indiana Department of Corrections, with two years suspended, and two years on reporting probation. The total is a concurrent total of five years for burglary and two years for auto theft.

Aker and Gibson are accused of burglarizing Pep Auto Sales, 1014 W. Pike St., Goshen. According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called there in reference to five vehicles taken from the sales lot.

Later in the week, on Sept. 25, police were called to Ozinga, 1700 Egbert Ave., Goshen, regarding a Cadillac Escalade parked inside one of the property's abandoned buildings. Upon arrival, officers also found four of the five total vehicles stolen from the lot inside the building.

While officers were collecting evidence from the found vehicles, a Chevrolet Impala showed up at the scene, but left quickly, and so officers conducted a traffic stop. According to the affidavit, Aker was identified as the driver and Gibson as the passenger. They reportedly told officers they'd heard the building was vacant and admitted to being in the building days prior.

Goshen police later met up with them at Aker's home, where they agreed to speak to police, court records show. They reportedly told police that they, along with Brent Gibson, stole the vehicles. Their comments also led officers to the recovery of the last missing vehicle, a black Ford 350, which was at Broadmore Estates, and the keys to all five stolen vehicles, according to the affidavit.

FORREST J. BRALEY

A Goshen man accused in a string of burglaries near Linway Plaza was sentenced by plea to six years in total, with most of them to be served on work release during Superior Court 3 proceedings on Thursday.

According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called to Berkshire Hathaway, 1701 Elkhart Road, for a burglary that had occurred overnight on April 12, 2023. An employee reported that the detached garage had been forced open and multiple items were stolen including a power washer, scrap copper, copper pipes, keys, and a trash can.

On April 26, the company reported another burglary, with one of the office windows broken open, and a camera and lenses taken. At the scene that day, police found a cell phone that they believed belonged to Forrest Braley, 35, of Goshen.

On May 20, the property manager of Linway Plaza contacted police to report that a security camera at the property was showing a man attempting to break into a work truck. In the morning, Tiki Tan and DC Commercial Cleaners, near the plaza also reported incidents. Tiki Tan reported that their outdoor vending machine had been pried open and cash attempted to be taken, and DC Commercial Cleaners reported tools and a company van stolen.

Surveillance from the Linway Plaza footage showed the man coming and going from DC Commercial Cleaners several times throughout the night, bringing another man with him the final time, and the vehicle leaving a short time later.

On May 21, police were again called to Linway Plaza for a property dispute where someone said people were attempting to break into a work vehicle near Sherwin Williams. One of the individuals was Sheila White, who said she'd been with Braley earlier, and they'd gotten into a fight about the property.

Officers found Braley at a nearby gas station. He told police he'd checked out a hopper near Bill's Heating and found a water heater for his house but didn't have any way to take it. Braley said he met up with a man who went by "Bully," who was driving a van, and he'd forgotten his backpack in his vehicle, adding that the van was likely stolen.

The vehicle was found behind a vacant property at 1110 W. Pike St., Goshen, across the alley from where White told police she'd been staying. White denied any knowledge of the burglaries and vehicle theft, though. A woman who also lived at the home told police while they were recovering the vehicle that Braley told her he got it.

On May 22, police say Braley pawned a camera matching the description of the one stolen from Berkshire Hathaway at Worldwide Jewelry and Pawn. Braley admitted to police all of the incidents, adding that it was the other person's idea to steal the van at DC Commercial Cleaners.

"I learned very quickly that it only takes one bad moment, one lapse of judgment, to go back," Braley said of his addictions when asked during sentencing, adding that he intended to continue outpatient treatment even in work release.

"You certainly look different today than you did in that picture the day you were booked in," Superior Court 3 Senior Judge Michael Bergerson said, showing Braley his original mug shot from his June 2023 arrest.

Braley told the judge that when the trailer factories began struggling, he went in search of another job, and because of his criminal history, he struggled to find one.

Braley was sentenced to a total of six years, with four to be served on Work Release and two on reporting probation for three counts of burglary, a Level 5 felony; with two counts of criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor, dismissed. Braley was also sentenced for possession of meth, a Level 5 felony; possession of a handgun by a felon, a Level 5 felony, and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, from a pending case dated November 2022, to the same, to be served concurrently.

DALLAS R. BLANKENSHIP III

A man charged in connection with an auto theft from a car dealership in Goshen, Dallas Blankenship III, 28, was sentenced by plea agreement to three years at the Elkhart County Jail, with two of them on reporting probation.

According to a probable cause affidavit, an officer found a blue Chevrolet Cavalier reported as stolen driving down Lincolnway East near Kercher Road at 3:48 p.m. June 10, 2023. The vehicle pulled into 24/7 Cars, 2228 Lincolnway East, Goshen, and the driver got out, grabbed a red bag from the vehicle, and began walking to Walmart, 2304 Lincolnway East. Police eventually located him again walking on a trail behind the 2500 block of Century Drive.

Police say the man gave false identification, but police identified him at Dallas R. Blankenship with the assistance of the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center by facial recognition taken while in custody.

Blankenship told police that a friend had let him borrow the vehicle, and couldn't provide the friend's full name but claimed he was afraid of him due to the friend being on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

The vehicle's last known location via surveillance before Blankenship's arrest was Park Hills, Montana, on June 3, then Vandalia, Michigan, June 9, and Hendricks County, Hancock County, McCordsville, and Wabash in Indiana, before making its way to Goshen. Blankenship's criminal history includes several other auto thefts and possession of stolen property charges.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 22.

EMILIANO GARCIA VARRIOS JR.

A man charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting his daughter's boyfriend had a pretrial conference on Thursday in Elkhart County Circuit Court.

It all started when Emiliano Garcia Varrios' wife received a call from the Elkhart County Jail notifying her that, William Pritt IV, 18, was being released from the jail at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 17.

Pritt IV was arrested on Dec. 15 on a battery charge against the woman. Pritt IV was also in a relationship with Garcia Varrios' 14-year-old daughter, of which he and his wife did not approve, according to a probably cause affidavit.

By 5:23 p.m., Elkhart County deputies were responding to a call of a shooting on Oak Hills Drive in Middlebury, where Pritt IV and his father had been shot. Pritt IV told police that his mom had given him a ride home from the jail, where Garcia Varrios and another man approached him soon after, and that he ran toward the house when Garcia Varrios started shooting at him, the affidavit reads.

Pratt IV's father was inside the home and sustained a gunshot wound to his ankle, but Pritt IV was shot in the shoulder and at the time of the probable cause affidavit, was reportedly paralyzed from the chest down.

Garcia Varrios was charged with attempted murder, a Level 1 felony; and criminal recklessness, a Level 5 felony.

Garcia Varrios' jury trial, scheduled for March 18, was rescheduled for Sept. 23. A bail review hearing is scheduled for Feb. 29, and a trial status conference for Aug. 29.

GERSON A. PORTILLO VALENCIA

A man accused of robbing a gas station in Elkhart was provided a public defender despite having available funds on Thursday.

Gerson A. Portillo Valencia, 25, told Elkhart County Circuit Court Judge Michael Christofeno by translator Adrian Aguilar during his initial hearing that he was not interested in hiring an attorney, as he plans to plead guilty and serve time in prison for it, but the judge told him to get an attorney anyway. Portillo Valencia, who had previously been deemed ineligible for a public defender, agreed to hire a defense attorney.

On Thursday, Portillo Valencia said he's been unable to sell his car and other property that was inside the vehicle to hire an attorney, because he's been unable to locate the vehicle.

A public defender was appointed.

Police allege that Portillo Valencia held up the Rebel gas station at 3200 Toledo Road in Elkhart at 6 a.m. Feb. 2.

The man reportedly purchased a few items, but, according to the probable cause affidavit, then told the cashier to give him all the money and threatened her with a gun. He took a total of around $186.

Camera footage showed that the man had entered and left from the northeast side of the building, and the cashier told police he'd been in the day before to buy cigarettes, offering a birth date from a license not issued by the state, and noted his California license plate, which people were able to find on the camera footage, the report reads. Police said they tracked using the Flock system to Benham Avenue south of Third Street in Elkhart.

Officers went to the area and found a similar vehicle behind a home in the 200 block of Middlebury Street with two men inside, the affidavit reads. The gun was reportedly seen on the center console. Police handcuffed Portillo Valencia, and also found the items the cashier said the robbery suspect had purchased. A homeowner said he did not know the men or the vehicle.

Portillo Valencia allegedly admitted the robbery to police. According to the affidavit, he said he didn't go in with the plan, but once he was alone in the store, decided to attempt it because he was low on cash.

He's also being charged with possession of a handgun by an illegal person.

An attorney status conference is scheduled for Feb. 22, a pretrial conference for March 14, with an omnibus date of April 11, a trial status conference Oct. 10, and a jury trial scheduled for Nov. 4.

The rest of this article can be found online at goshennews.com

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.