Inmate held in prison worker attack

An employee at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City was seriously hurt when struck on the head with a steel pipe allegedly by an inmate.

TLa Porte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said a decision on charges will not be made until after Indiana State Police completes their investigation and presents the findings to his office for review.

The suspect, Jeremy Davidson, 39, of Logansport is serving a virtual life sentence on multiple counts of child molesting, with a release date in 2192.

BY STAN MADDUX

According to ISP, inmates were working in the prison’s steel work shop Monday, April 10, when an argument erupted between Davidson and a shop supervisor.

At some point, Davidson struck the supervisor on the head with a steel pipe.

The force of the impact caused potentially life threatening injuries, ISP said.

The unidentified civilian employee was taken by helicopter to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

Police said he underwent emergency treatment and remained in critical condition.

Davidson was taken into custody and transferred to another facility, police said.

Fagan said a decision on charges cannot be made until he has a clearer picture of what transpired.

Other factors in his decision making will be whether the victim survives and, if so, what future challenges he might have to overcome in his recovery.

“We’re needing the fog of war to kind of lift for us to better ascertain the situation,” he said.

Police expose alleged school predator

AMichigan City woman allegedly gave a girl she knew from a school basketball team alcohol and marijuana.

Denaya Hall is also accused of trying to seduce the 13-year-old girl.

Those are the allegations from a police investigation resulting in charges against the 21-year-old woman.

According to court documents, Michigan City Police were contacted after Hall dropped the girl

BY STAN MADDUX

off outside her home during the early morning hours of March 22.

The girl stumbled her way across the front yard and into the front door then fell backwards onto a sidewalk.

A relative found her incoherent in her bedroom, police said.

She was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where marijuana was found in her system, police said.

According to court documents, text messages exchanged between Hall and the girl revealed she had given the teenager alcohol and marijuana on more than one occasion.

Police said text messages also indicate there were attempts by Hall to seduce the girl.

Hall was an assistant manager for the boys’ basketball team at Krueger Middle School while the girl held a similar position on the squad, police said.

No major injuries from train and bus

BY STAN MADDUX

No major injuries were reported when a slow-moving freight train and shuttle bus containing South Shore Railroad commuter line passengers collided Tuesday, April 11, in Michigan City.

Mike Noland, president and general manager of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, which operates the commuter line, said there were 13 passengers on the Royal Excursion bus.

Noland said one of the passengers was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

“I don’t have an update on his condition but last night the individual walked off the bus,” he said.

About 8 p.m., Noland said the riders arrived at the Carroll Ave. passenger station by train from South Bend and were placed on the bus.

The bus was destined for Gary, where commuter line trains continue to and from Chicago.

Commuter trains are not running to and from

Michigan City and Gary because of the ongoing construction of a second commuter rail line between the communities to speed up travel to and from the Windy City.

Noland said it appears the bus driver pulled out in front of the oncoming train at an ungated crossing a very short distance from the passenger station parking lot.

He said the train operated by the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad was traveling slowly before the engineer applied the brakes.

A short time later, Noland said the train hit the rear of the bus.

He described the damage as “very minor.”

He also estimated the speed of the train at less than 10 miles per hour at impact.

Noland said the preliminary investigation shows the bus driver stopped before the crossing guarded by cross bucks.