CALUMET CITY WOMAN GETS 10-YEAR SPLIT TERM IN SHOOTING
A Calumet City woman was sentenced to a 10-year split term Tuesday in a plea deal for shooting up her ex-boyfriend’s mom’s home in Gary.
The mother was shot in the arm.
Zakiya Coats, 28, pleaded guilty in August to battery resulting in serious bodily injury and attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon.
In total, she got four years in prison, three years in Lake County Community Corrections, with the first year in a work release program, and three years of probation.
Gary Police were called May 9, 2023, to the 1200 block of Decatur Street.
The victim said she was in the bedroom and her husband was watching TV around 12:15 a.m. when they heard “strange noises” and “banging” outside. Other kids were elsewhere in the home.
Coats was “busting” out her son’s car windows. As the woman looked through the window, Coats fired a shot near her, according to court records.
The bullet hit her bedroom dresser. Another bullet entered a different bedroom.
They went out briefly and saw their son’s windshield and driver’s window were shattered.
Back inside, the woman’s husband was looking at damage to the other bedroom when he saw the white Dodge Neon return.
“Ay, here comes the car again, everybody get down!” he said.
They heard a second round of shooting.
Her husband pushed her into the bathroom while others crouched down in the hallway. She saw blood on her nightgown and realized she was shot. She called 911. Her husband wrapped her arm and took her to the hospital.
LAWYER ASKS FOR COMPETENCY EVALUATION IN MURDER
A defense lawyer asked for a mental competency evaluation Tuesday for an Indianapolis man charged in a fatal Gary gas station shooting.
Police allege Robert Lee Chandler, Jr., 28, opened fire, killing a woman and wounding another man who was there.
He is charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated battery, two counts of Level 5 felony unlawful carrying of a handgun, and two misdemeanors. He is also facing a gun enhancement.
Defense lawyer Joe Roberts argued, after a “lengthy” bail hearing and working through the legal case, an insanity defense was the most “appropriate.”
Judge Gina Jones granted the request. His March 30 trial will be reset.
Gary Police responded at 2 a.m. June 29, 2024, to the Citgo gas station, 4901 Melton Road, in the city’s Miller section.
Miracle Roberts, 25, of Gary, was shot in the back. She was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital Northlake. Her death was ruled a homicide.
EAST CHICAGO WOMAN COULD GET PROBATION IN MOLESTING CASE
An East Chicago woman is facing one year’s probation in a decade-old child molesting case.
Stephanie Alvarado, 35, pleaded guilty Feb. 20 to battery on a person under 14 years of age.
A judge would have to accept the plea. A sentencing date hasn’t yet been set.
A hearing was scheduled Wednesday.
The victim told East Chicago Police that Alvarado’s now ex-boyfriend, Andres Guerra, molested her in two separate homes starting when she was 10 or 11, around 2013, which began with Guerra touching her inappropriately as she slept, an affidavit alleges.
Court documents alleged Alvarado later joined in the abuse, which stopped in 2015.
In exchange for her plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the child molesting charges.
Judge Gina Jones declared a mistrial in November after a detective misattributed an answer during his testimony.
Guerra’s lawyer John Cantrell argued previously that the victim made up the accusations after an alleged fist fight with Alvarado on Oct. 30, 2015. Alvarado pleaded guilty in that case and got one year on probation.
Guerra got 80 years after he was convicted at trial.
At sentencing, his wife Mellissa Guerra, a Hammond school board member, said she hoped one day he would be “exonerated.”
Post-Tribune archives contributed. mcolias@post-trib.com
