IU Basketball Player Mackenzie Mgbako arrested
Release on the incident from Bloomington Police Department
“On October 22nd at approximately 2:15 a.m., officers responded to Taco Bell, located at 3001 E Third Street, in reference to a man refusing to leave the property. Upon arrival, officers were advised by Taco Bell management that they were refusing service to the man in a vehicle in the drive-thru due to him cursing at and being rude to employees. Officers made contact with the man, who refused to identify himself but told officers that he was 18 years old. The man was later identified as Mackenzie Mgbako.
Officers asked Mgbako to move his vehicle from the drive-thru line, which he agreed to do and moved the vehicle into a parking space in the Taco Bell lot. Upon speaking further with management, they requested that officers tell Mgbako to leave the property. Officers explained to Mgbako that he needed to leave the property and he refused to do so and kept the windows closed on his vehicle. At one point, Mgbako began to drive out of the lot, but then reversed his vehicle and parked again in a parking space on Taco Bell property. He was told repeatedly that he needed to leave the property by officers but failed to comply and stayed on Taco Bell property for approximately 15 minutes.
Officers determined that Mgbako would be arrested for trespassing, but he then moved his vehicle to a nearby lot and parked again. Officers approached his vehicle and advised him that he was under arrest and that he needed to exit his vehicle, but he refused to do so. Officers had to use a baton to break the passenger side window of the vehicle to unlock the doors. Upon opening the driver’s door, Mgbako was given commands to exit the driver’s seat, but he refused to do so. Officers had to forcibly remove him from the vehicle and he tensed his arms and would not allow officers to secure him in handcuffs. Officers were able to eventually place him in handcuffs and he was then transported to the Monroe County Jail, where he was remanded for criminal trespass, class A misdemeanor, and resisting law enforcement, class A misdemeanor.”
Serial Robber sentenced to 9 years in Federal Prison for attempted robbery of Indianapolis business
James Bennett, 44, of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been sentenced to xx years in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted commercial robbery. According to court documents, on November 4, 2022, Bennett entered a PetSmart store on the East side of Indianapolis. Once inside, Bennett pointed what appeared to be a firearm at the cashier’s head and hit her with the weapon as he demanded she give him money, but she was unable to open the cash register. Bennett then unsuccessfully attempted to open the register himself by banging on it with his firearm. Bennett left the store. The entire attempted robbery was captured on video.
Before attempting to rob the PetSmart, Bennet was convicted of five separate robberies and a burglary, and one prior conviction for sexual intercourse with a minor. He was sentenced to prison in 2007 and released on July 30, 2022, just 3 months before he attempted to rob the PetSmart.
FBI and IMPD investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. Judge Stinson also ordered that Bennett be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years following his release from federal prison.
United Way offers First Time Homeowner Program
Indiana Attorney General refuses to bail out violent offenders
Attorney General Todd Rokita released the following statement regarding Indiana’s bail system:
“There have been legal challenges from the Bail Project to an important law passed in 2022, which regulates the charitable bail industry and prevents charitable bail groups from bailing out anyone charged with a violent crime in Indiana, as well as anyone with a past conviction for a violent crime who is charged with any new felony. The Indiana General Assembly has the legal authority to regulate those who pay bail for criminal defendants.
Hoosiers have a legitimate interest in regulating their bail system. Violent or potentially violent offenders should not be on the streets whatsoever, especially when they are being bailed out by biased, political organizations. There is an increase of crime in our country, and this only adds to this statistic. What they call “charitable bail” is not charitable at all – it erodes the rule of law and destroys the natural incentive built into our bail system. Without this incentive, there is no reason for these defendants to return when their court date occurs.
During the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, many looters, arsonists, and aggressors were released on bail due to the contributions of organizations claiming to be advocates for racial justice. In actuality, they were advocating for people who took the opportunity of national unrest to steal from small businesses, destroy public property, and injure innocent people.
I am proud of our team for defending this smart piece of legislation, and we will continue to do so.”
This Week in Hoosier History
1970 – The Indianapolis Museum of Art opened at its new location at Oldfields, the Lilly family estate at Michigan Road and 38th Street. In 2017 the campus and organization were renamed Newfields.
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson