Police Investigate 2 Saturday Homicides In NW Indiana
LAKE COUNTY, Ind. (STMW) -- Two men were killed in separate homicides Saturday night in Lake County.
In the first incident, a 30-year-old Chicago man was shot to death at a Hammond residence shortly before midnight. Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller said Jonathan Butler arrived at a house in the 4000 block of Grover Avenue around 11:30 p.m. Butler, who resided in the 100 block of W. 108th Place, and the shooter were involved in a disagreement over money, police said relating to an unpaid drug debt.
The shooter, who is not in custody, shot Butler twice with a shotgun, Miller said. Butler was pronounced dead at the scene.
Miller said the preliminary investigation seems to be a justifiable homicide due to self defense.
All investigation information will be presented to the Lake County Prosecutor's Office to determine if charges need to be filed
Around 10:27 p.m., an East Chicago man was stabbed to death during a fight at a Family Express gas station in Hobart.
Jesus Ibarra, 19, suffered a stab wound to his body at the station, located at 2 E. Old Hobart Road. Ibarra was on his way to a bar in Hobart, when he and his friends stopped for to ask for directions. Hobart Police were called to the scene at 10:27 p.m. after at least eight men got into an altercation. Before police arrived, his friends put Ibarra in the car and took him to the Methodist Hospitals Northlake in Gary. The four remaining witnesses were picked up by their families.
Ibarra was pronounced dead at 12:03 a.m., and Gary Police notified Hobart dispatchers. Officers returned to the gas station, where they found blood near the front doors and recovered a weapon.
Around 3 a.m., the four men were found at a Hobart apartment, and a 17-year-old boy was taken into custody. Charges will be presented to the Lake County Prosecutor's Office.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
