Dillon charged in 7-11 murder

Thursday afternoon.

US attorney Dave Capp called a press conference to announce federal charges against Eric Dillon, 27, out of Gary. Capp said Hammond police picked him up on a traffic stop earlier this week. 

Capp's office alleges that Dillon entered the 7-11 at Hohman and Douglas on Jan. 20 "with a handgun, demanded money, and shot and killed the clerk." The clerk was Roger Unton out of Illinois.

The three or four of you may remember this story as it unfolded on the morning show in January. 

A caller wondered aloud why there were so many cop cars at the 7-11… and by 6:30 we knew that the clerk had been shot and killed, most likely in a robbery. 

The curious thing about this case is the involvement of the feds. Typically, local police departments handle and investigate violent crimes in their own communities. This time, Capp and the federal office invoked the "Hobbs Act," which, as he outlined, allows the feds to get involved in an investigation involving interstate commerce. Hmmm.
 
I asked Capp if this is a message that his office is willing and open to getting involved in local violent crimes by invoking the Hobbs Act.

"Yes," was all he said. Dillon is set to go in front of Magistrate Judge Cherry on Tues., March 15, 2016. I'll try to be there.