Year in Review: Top Crime Stories of 2012

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The year 2012 saw several murders and some crime that remains unsolved.

The year in crime began with one of the more bizarre twists. Accused murderer Antonio Williams died in jail Jan. 14. Williams, along with Carolann Clear and Darren Englert, were arrested for their roles in the July 2011 murder of Jeremy Gibson.

That fall, the Indiana Department of Corrections admitted Williams had been released more than a year early for a prior conviction, leading Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Pat Harrington to say, "This is a horrific crime, a brutal crime. It never should have happened."

One month later, in February, Clear pleaded guilty to her role in the murder. A jury convicted Englert in November.

Lafayette's other murder case from July 2011 also is wrapped up in 2012. In March, Michael Anthony Foster pleaded guilty to helping murder 26-year-old Clarence Smith in July 2011. A jury convicted Dartanyan Porche in April and Kevin Williams in August of their roles in Smith's murder.

In March 2012, there was an arrest in Lafayette's only other murder from 2011. Prosecutors charged Richard Fouts for killing his 84-year-old grandfather William Hartlep in Hartlep's Meadow Drive home in October. Detectives say DNA connects Fouts to the ransacked house.

But 2012's year in crime really begins with a story that has no ending. Samuel Kessler, 94, a former Monticello county commissioner, was shot and killed in his home Jan. 28. No arrests have been made.

In March, a welfare check led to a six-hour standoff with White County deputies. Two shots were fired at deputies. Christian Condo faces six felony charges including attempted murder.

In June, West Lafayette police said Jeffrey Hancher shot his friend in the back near the intersection of Huron Road and Navajo Drive. He currently faces a battery charge.

In October, 29-year-old Tye Rentfrow was shot and killed inside a Monticello home. Ray Chamorro was charged with murder and three others were also arrested for their roles in the crime.

October also saw Lafayette's first homicide of the year. Police said Kevin Adams shot Robert Rudicle II in the chest with a shotgun after a dispute about a woman got out of hand at a home on Kossuth Street. At the time, investigators were not sure if the two men had ever met and said Rudicle was not armed.

But perhaps the crime story of the year was the large number of armed robberies, especially in Lafayette and Frankfort. There were four armed bank robberies in a six-week stretch in September and October. While not all are solved, in November, police announced two arrests. Ronald Corbin and Christepher Clemons both face multiple charges in connection with several robberies.
    
Of course, with many suspects in these crimes still facing trials, News 18 will continue to follow these stories in 2013.