Gary airport continues operations despite airline closure\nGARY – Airport officials say they will continue to solicit passenger air service despite the grounding of Skybus Airlines flights and comments by the Chicago mayor that the facility’s future lies in cargo transport. \n“We will continue to market commercial air service for the Gary airport,” said Gary/Chicago International Airport Director Chris Curry. “That was always the plan previous to Skybus, during Skybus and after Skybus.”
Students receive text messages warning of school violence\nFORT WAYNE – Some students at Fort Wayne high schools received text messages warning of violence after the city recently recorded nine homicides, which authorities believe are related to gang violence and drugs. Student Dejrick Smith said he received a text message late Sunday from a friend who forwarded it to him. The text messages, which some students received from an unknown number, warned that several schools could be shot up Monday.
Man sentenced to 140 years in prison for molestation\nANDERSON – A man who pleaded guilty to molesting a girl for seven years has been sentenced to 140 years in prison.\nThirty-seven-year-old John D. Patrick of Anderson apologized during his sentencing Monday in Madison Superior Court.\nHis attorney had argued for a lesser sentence. Patrick is expected to file an appeal.\nInvestigators say Patrick began molesting the girl, who is mildly mentally retarded, when she was 7 years old.\nThe police investigation began when a family friend reported the abuse. The girl now lives with a foster family.
Officer allegedly tipped off suspects in drug investigation\nINDIANAPOLIS – A former police officer faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to tipping off suspects in a federal drug investigation.\nNoble Duke, 39, also could be fined $250,000 when U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker sentences him within about 70 days.\nDuke pleaded guilty Friday to disclosing wiretaps to damage a criminal investigation, acting U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison said Monday.\nDuke, who had been an Indianapolis police officer since February 2001, resigned last month. He had been part of a federal drug task force from 2005 to 2007.\nFederal agents monitored cell phone conversations between members of several suspected cocaine-dealing groups as part of the probe. Officials said Duke revealed to some of the suspects that their calls were being monitored, that an indictment was pending and that police planned to arrest people on a certain date.\n“Compromising criminal investigations by alerting persons to their imminent arrest creates situations that endanger both law enforcement officers and the public,” Morrison said in a statement. “Fortunately, no one got hurt here, but we were only lucky.”\nA federal grand jury indicted 36 people on drug trafficking charges in June, but prosecutors said 15 evaded arrest at least partly because they had been tipped off by Duke.
