A Chesterton man suspected in a string of business burglaries committed last year in Northwest Indiana—including a rash of them in Downtown Chesterton in the summer and fall of 2007—has been sentenced to eight years in the Department of Corrections (DOC), after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary.

Anthony Michael Miller, 21, of 219 Jefferson Ave., was sentenced on Nov. 25 by Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper to a term of four years for each of the two counts. Those terms are to be served consecutively.

Burglary is a Class C felony punishable by a term of two to eight years in prison.

Miller had originally been charged with six counts of burglary and two of attempted burglary. Under a plea agreement reached with the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Miller pleaded guilty to two counts—to the burglary on June 30, 2007, of the Vac Shop on Calumet Ave. and Blondie’s on Roosevelt Road, both in Valparaiso—and in exchange the remaining counts were dropped.

Harper noted as aggravating factors that Miller had been on probation at the time of the burglaries and in fact had been on probation for less than 60 days. She also noted that the two counts to which Miller pleaded guilty are his fifth and sixth felony convictions in adult court.

Miller was initially arrested and charged in October 2007 after being implicated by a fellow suspect, Jason R. Meade, 21, of Portage. For his part Meade was charged with one count of Class C burglary in connection with the entry on Sept. 24, 2007, of the offices of Harris Welsh & Lukmann.

A partial list of business burglaries committed in Downtown Chesterton in the summer and fall of 2007 includes the following: in June, Lipinski Automotive and the Northside Diner; in August, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Long John Silvers, Ella’s Bella, and the Moonlight Café; and in September, the Diary Queen, the Paper Conspiracy, the China Chef Buffet, and Shear Artistre.

It is unclear in which, if any, of those burglaries Miller was involved.

Posted 12/5/2008