Man Charged In Deadly Shooting In Gary
GARY, Ind. (STMW) -- Charges of murder, attempted murder, attempted robbery, criminal confinement and battery with a deadly weapon have been filed in Lake Superior Court against a 21-year-old Gary man who was wounded during the shooting that left one person dead earlier this month.
Mark Cherry, of the 2700 block of Benton Street in Gary, is charged with murder in the death of Rolando A. Correa, who was found on the floor of a residence in the 6200 block of West 29th Avenue, Gary.
Witnesses told police that shortly before midnight on Dec. 1 at a residence at 6216 W. 29th Ave., in Gary, someone knocked on the front door. Anthony Martinez went out the back door toward the front door, which isn't used, and saw three men — one with a chrome revolver, one with what appeared to be a .22-caliber pistol and the third with a shotgun.
The two men with handguns grabbed him and one of them fired twice and said, "Where's the weed?" Martinez said he didn't have any marijuana, then was forced to his knees and a gun was placed to his head.
Martinez said he lied and told the men the marijuana was in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, his brother, Elias, who lives next door, ran inside the house and grabbed the man who had the gun pointed at his brother.
Three other individuals in Anthony Martinez's residence ran into the bedroom but were confronted by the other gunmen. Anthony Martinez's fiance and another friend jumped out of a bedroom window as shots were being fired.
Martinez said he was wrestling with a man who fired twice, causing a graze wound on his arm and an injury to his hand. While Martinez, his brother and one of his friends were fighting with the gunmen, the man wounded himself in the left side, dropped the gun and said he couldn't breathe.
The Martinez brothers ran as they heard other gunshots, then took cover behind the refrigerator and called police. Elias Martinez was wounded in the chest.
One of the gunmen was identified as Cherry, who was taken to Methodist Hospitals Northlake Campus in Gary, then transferred to Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill.
In March 2012, Cherry was sentenced to 10 years for robbery, with four years of the sentence suspended and served on probation. He entered the Lake County Community Transition Program in May.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
