It s been 41 years since off-duty Hammond Officer Lawrence J. "Larry" Pucalik was killed. Lawyers at the public defender s office say the killers may still be out there, but their
Lake County Deputy Prosecutors Jacob Brandewie and Arturo Balcazar have asked Judge Natalie Bokota to disqualify defense attorney Patrick Young because of a possible conflict of interest.
CROWN POINT â A Lake Criminal Court judge on Tuesday set aside a man s murder conviction in the 1980 shooting death of an off-duty Hammond police officer because prosecutors didn t turn over evidence to the man s defense before his trial more than two years ago.
James Hill Jr., 58, was serving a 40-year sentence following his August 2018 conviction for murder in perpetration of a robbery in the homicide of Officer Lawrence J. Larry Pucalik on Nov. 14, 1980, at the Holiday Inn-Southeast, formerly at the intersection of Cline Avenue and Interstate 80/94.
In a joint motion filed Tuesday, defense attorney Scott King and Lake County First Assistant Deputy Prosecutor Peter Villarreal asked Judge Salvador Vasquez to release Hill from prison on his own recognizance pending a resolution of the case.