A motion to correct the sentencing of a Gary man, 31, convicted in October of killing his stepfather netted him only six months less on his sentence.
Lake Superior Court Judge Gina Jones and Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Judith Massa conceded at a Tuesday hearing that the portion of James G. Adams Jr.’s sentence declaring 10 years of it was “non-suspendable” was a “misstep.” Nevertheless, the sentence itself — 17.5 years — was “very fair,” Massa said, adding that victim Lanier Miller’s family was “relatively happy” with it.
“(The crime) involved a death, and since 2024, the (Indiana) Legislature found that for a person convicted of a Level 2 felony, there should be a minimum of 10 years,” Massa said. “(Adams) has been given all the mitigators he can get.”
Adams’s attorney, James Dillon, said that Jones “had the ability to craft a sentence that’s punitive but restorative” and asked for five years in work-release and five years suspended on general order.
“He’s always been polite in court,” he said, listing mitigating factors that he felt should count.
Jones, however, said the 2.5-hour sentencing hearing in October gave everyone the information needed for the sentencing and then adjusted Adams’s sentence to seven years in prison; five years in Community Corrections, with one year served in the Kimbrough Center; two years on house arrest and two years of daily report; and five years of probation. Because the sentence was a plea agreement, the state will have to agree to any sentence appeal, she said.
Munster Police were called around 4 a.m. Feb. 27 to MRC Global, 101 45th Street, near the Illinois state line, where a man, identified as Miller, was lying just outside a white Dodge Charger facing the loading bays with the driver’s side door glass shattered, the Post-Tribune previously reported.
Miller, of South Holland, Illinois, was shot in the head and declared dead at the scene, according to court records.
Soon after, a relative dropped off Adams Jr. and Ferria Jones, his sister, at the Munster Town Hall, telling police officers they were involved with the shooting and the weapons were inside the car. Police took a silver and black Smith and Wesson gun and a black Glock 31, according to court records.
Their mother left her purse in the car — containing the Smith and Wesson — and Miller dropped his cell phone on the ground.
Miller later called his phone from MRC Global, telling a relative he’d trade it for her purse. Adams Jr. “recognized” the phone number, because he’d also worked there, too, the affidavit states.
Adams Jr. and his sister went to make the exchange. She gave different versions of what happened. Miller appeared to be “asleep” and “surprised” to see him.
Ferria Jones then changed her story and said Miller was listening to music when they arrived. Her brother first tried to find something in her trunk to “jimmy” open the locked door. When he couldn’t find anything, he ran away and grabbed a tire-chock to bust open the driver’s side window. He didn’t want to use a gun in case it accidentally went off.
When Miller tried to grab the mother’s gun, Adams tried to pull him away from it, ripping Miller’s shirt.
Jones jumped out and went to help her brother. Miller fired a shot that grazed her knee.
She “heard another shot”, but didn’t know who fired, she said in court documents. They swapped and Adams drove away, saying Miller was shot. Two relatives were on the phone during the shooting and told them to go to the police station.
Ferria Jones claimed at first, they went back for their mom’s things before just skipping it. She later admitted they took back her gun, seeing Miller with his legs sticking out, struggling to breathe.
Adams told police they first swung by the Hard Rock Casino looking for Miller because he had a “gambling problem,” before heading to his workplace in Munster.
Once they found him in Munster, Miller said he had “no intention” of talking with Adams, so he went to break out the car window. He grabbed a tire chock 40 yards away and busted out the window. The men started fighting and pulled Miller’s shirt off. When Miller tried to reach for the mother’s gun, Ferria Jones ran around and tried to grab it from him. Adams pressed his gun to Miller’s back and then shot Miller.
Miller started to “slur” and “trail off.” Adams said he “panicked” and didn’t know what to do, taking the mom’s and then putting it back. They left, then went back, because his gun magazine fell out, and they grabbed it from Miller’s car. They also grabbed the purse and the other gun.
They met with a relative at a Highland gas station who called 911 and took them to turn themselves in at the Munster Town Hall, where the police department is located.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.