News Tagged ‘U.S. Attorney’s Office’

Two Rensselaer residents have been indicted on drug charges in Hammond Federal Court.

31-year-old Amin Guillermo Velazquez and 28-year-old Johana Jatzhiry Velazquez were charged with conspiracy to distribute or possess with the intent to distribute four kilos or more of cocaine and 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Illinois State Police.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized that an indictment is merely an allegation and that the pair are innocent until proven guilty.

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The Star City Fire Department and the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating a house fire that occurred at Nathan VanDerAa’s home in Star City on Sunday.

The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office told WKVI that the fire is considered incendiary, meaning that it was created by someone. The home and VanDerAa’s vehicle were both set on fire. VanDerAa was reportedly not at home at the time of the incident. If you have any information about this arson, call the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department at (574) 946-6655. A reward of $5,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of any suspect(s) responsible for this incident. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nathan VanDerAa

Federal charges have been filed against Nathan VanDerAa of Star City.

On June 3rd, VanDerAa was arrested on a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine after a traffic stop and a few days later, Starke County officers arrived at his home in Star City and found that he was in the presence of a meth lab, firearms and ammunition. Pulaski County Prosecutor, Stacey Mrak, filed methamphetamine related charges against him and the ATF was expected to file a federal charge for a firearm possession. Mrak recently dismissed the County’s charges against VanDerAa and they were transferred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Bend. VanDerAa had his initial hearing in federal court in South Bend on July 6th.

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