The Porter man who
police say actually stole the handgun allegedly used by another Porter man
to fatally shoot a Portage resident in December--during a vehicle entry gone
bad--has been sentenced to time served, after pleading guilty to two counts
of theft.
On Friday, Korey
Brandon Izynski, 19, with a listed address of 637 Wood St., was sentenced to
two and a half years in prison on the first theft count, with all of it
suspended but the 155 days in jail he spent awaiting disposition. On the
second theft count, he was sentenced to two years in prison, with all of it
suspended.
The balance of each
suspended sentence Izynski will serve on formal probation.
A third charge
filed against Izynski, attempted theft, was dismissed.
Under the terms of
the plea agreement reached with the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s
Office, Izynski is required to testify against his co-defendants in the case
and to participate in a dual diagnosis program--treating substance addiction
plus behavioral issues--at Porter Starke Services.
Finally, a
no-contact order in place since the shooting in December, prohibiting
Izynski during the pre-trial period from communicating with the widow of the
victim, Alex Tapia, was modified to remain in effect throughout the term of
his formal probation.
The handgun which
police say Tapia’s accused slayer, Thomas Reichler, used in the shooting on
Dec. 12 was reported stolen only three days earlier from a Chesterton
resident’s unlocked vehicle, while it was parked in the 600 block of North
Calumet Road.
Police say that
Izynski is in fact the one who stole the Ruger 9mm LCP but later traded it
to Reichler for an FN Herstal semi-automatic pistol which Reichler had
stolen only two hours before the shooting, from a vehicle parked in the 100
block of Taylor Street in Chesterton.
Reichler, 18, with
a listed address of 405 Strongbow Trail in Porter, is charged with murder,
attempted theft, and possession of stolen property.
Also charged in
connection with events on Dec. 12 is Nathaniel Sipe, 19, with a listed
address of 677 E. U.S. Highway 6 in Jackson Township. Sipe is facing a
charge of theft.
Izynski had been
charged as well with assisting a criminal committing murder--after police
said that he drove Reichler to the hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds
sustained when Tapia returned fire--but the state moved to dismiss that
charge.
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