09242008 - News Article - Ex-cop's sentence shortened in plea deal



Ex-cop's sentence shortened in plea deal
NWI Times
Sep 24, 2008
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/ex-cop-s-sentence-shortened-in-plea-deal/article_57c86935-a3f9-5f1c-b778-e9e65f5bcebc.html
VALPARAISO | A day after approving a deal that allowed a former county police officer to escape both jail time and a felony conviction for a domestic dispute involving a gun, Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford reduced the sentence so as not interfere with plans by John "Mike" Jenkins to move away Saturday.

Bradford reduced the one-year suspended sentence by five days so Jenkins would no longer fall under federal rules requiring him to wait about 45 days to transfer his probation to another state.

The glitch in the plea agreement was discovered Tuesday afternoon by the county probation department just a short time after 49-year-old Jenkins appeared in court to plead guilty to reduced charges stemming from the May 22 incident.

Jenkins' defense attorney, Ken Elwood, returned near the end of the work day Tuesday to discuss the unforeseen development with Bradford.

Deputy Prosecutor Trista Hudson said Wednesday morning she did not believe the federal requirements applied to Jenkins because he pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and was placed on unsupervised probation.

There was some urgency to the development because Jenkins reportedly has plans to move Saturday to Minnesota to start a new job. He had left the county sheriff's department in 2004 to work as director of security for Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.

Officials involved in the case deny any special treatment of Jenkins because of his service as a police officer. They referred to weakening evidence in the case and said this is typically how cases are handled for first time offenders, even when a gun is involved.

Jenkins' wife told police on the night in question he had consumed alcohol and then bit her, struck her in the stomach and tried to choke her. She also reported Jenkins fired his gun.

Jenkins was never arrested, but he was later charged with felony counts of strangulation and intimidation, and misdemeanor domestic battery.

In the deal struck with prosecutors and approved by Bradford, the strangulation charge was dropped and the two remaining counts were reduced to misdemeanor intimidation and battery. Had Jenkins been convicted of either a felony or the original domestic battery charge, he would no longer be allowed to legally possess guns.

Jenkins also avoided jail time.

He was initially sentenced to one year in jail, but the deal suspended all but time served and 30 days. The 30 days are to be spent doing community service work and Jenkins will spend the balance of the suspended term on informal probation that does not require office visits.

He was ordered to continue with counseling, with an emphasis on domestic violence.

Jenkins had supervised both patrol officers and detectives and also served as an undercover narcotics officer and an accident reconstructionist during his 25 years with the sheriff's department.

09232008 - News Article - Ex-cop avoids felonies in domestic case



Ex-cop avoids felonies in domestic case
NWI Times
Sep 23, 2008
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/ex-cop-avoids-felonies-in-domestic-case/article_e59b75ad-20f1-566b-9455-75071327d09e.html
VALPARAISO | A retired Porter County Sheriff's Department commander struck a deal that allowed him to plead guilty Tuesday to misdemeanors rather than the original felony charges stemming accusations of striking his wife and firing a gun during the disturbance.

The difference is significant in that had John M. "Mike" Jenkins been convicted of a felony or the original domestic battery charge, he would no longer be allowed to legally possess guns.

Jenkins also escaped going to jail as part of the deal struck with prosecutors and accepted by Porter Superior Judge Roger Bradford.

The 49-year-old was sentenced to one year in jail, but the deal suspended all but time served and 30 days. The 30 days are to be spent doing community service work and Jenkins will spend the balance of the suspended term on informal probation that does not require office visits.

He was ordered to continue with counseling, with an emphasis on domestic violence. That part of the deal was important for Bradford, who called the agreement standard for this type of situation and for someone with no prior criminal record.

Jenkins had also avoided arrest following the May 22, 2008 incident.

Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Trista Hudson predicted during the short hearing Tuesday that the victim in this case would not be happy the felonies were reduced to misdemeanors.

Jenkins was initially charged with felony counts of strangulation and intimidation, and misdemeanor domestic battery. The strangulation charge was dropped and the two remaining counts were reduced to misdemeanor intimidation and battery.

Hudson said the charges were reduced both because Jenkins has no prior criminal record and because the evidence in the case broke down.

Jenkins' defense attorney Ken Elwood called the deal an "appropriate resolution."

09182008 - Porter County Local Court Rules - Local Court Rule 2100 / Financial Declaration not adhered to in divorce case







09182008 - Porter County Local Court Rule 2100 - Financial Declaration Forms in divorce cases: Porter County attorneys do not abide by rule






09182008 - May 2008 property settlement vacated - Rule 2100 not adhered to by Attorneys Shaw and Rice -- Porter County Indiana -- Cause No. 64D01-0708-DR-7804

Porter County Local Court Rule 2100 states that Financial Declaration forms must be filed in divorce cases. The Court and divorce attorneys [Attorney Jeffrey Shaw, Valparaiso IN; Attorney Donald Rice, Portage IN] failed to adhere to Rule 2100. My divorce property settlement was vacated for this reason.


There was no investigation into this matter by the Porter County Courts, to determine if the court / divorce attorneys had failed to adhere to Rule 2100 in other divorce cases. Instead, Magistrate Johnson retaliated against me and allowed my ex and his attorney to get away with whatever they wanted to during the next two years of the divorce...





08132023 - News Article - Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case

  Former Portage Mayor James Snyder asks US Supreme Court to consider his case Chicago Tribune  Aug 13, 2023 https://www.chicagotribune.com/...