Pratt To Serve Local Sentence After Involvement With String Of Thefts
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
Mario CJ Pratt
WARSAW — A South Bend teenager will avoid prison time for his involvement with a string of thefts in Kosciusko County.
Mario CJ Pratt, 19, South Bend, was charged with criminal organization activity and auto theft, both level 6 felonies; and theft, a class A misdemeanor. A corrupt business influence charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Pratt was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court One on Thursday, March 2.
For criminal organization activity, Kosciusko Superior Court One Judge Karin McGrath sentenced Pratt to two years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with six months executed and 1 1/2 years suspended on probation. Pratt received the same sentence for his auto theft charge. For misdemeanor theft, Pratt received a six-month DOC sentence. All three counts will be served consecutively.
In total, Pratt received a 4 1/2 year sentence, with 1 1/2 years executed. Through 183 days of jail time credit, Pratt will avoid serving any prison time unless he violates any rules of probation.
Pratt must also pay $3,041.49 in restitution to a total of three victims, with a requirement of his probation being the payment of $50 a week toward restitution.
At sentencing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek said despite his young age, Pratt hasn’t led a law-abiding lifestyle. He asked McGrath to consider consecutive, executed sentences in the case but argued Pratt would benefit more from a local sentence than prison time.
“This caused real fear within our community and there was real concern,” said Sobek. “There were multiple victims in these thefts which occurred not over days, but weeks.”
Defense Attorney Nick Jacobs said Pratt has taken responsibility for his involvement and is willing to pay any restitution. The Kosciusko County Work Release and Community Corrections programs both denied Pratt’s participation but Jacobs said Pratt was approved for Michiana Community Corrections. Jacobs also voiced his objection to Pratt serving the sentence in prison.
McGrath noted Pratt’s pre-sentence investigation report listed Pratt as very high-risk to re-offend and told Pratt “that’s going to be hard to overcome.”
“Stealing is absolutely unacceptable,” said McGrath. “You need to make the right choices.”
Background On Case
On Aug. 11, 2022, a string of thefts began occurring east of Warsaw. Multiple people from the Hunters Ridge and Indian Village subdivisions reported their vehicles being broken into. Items such as wallets and purses were stolen from their vehicles. Within the same time frame, a gray 2019 Jeep Cherokee was stolen from the Barbee Lakes area.
Pratt was identified as one of the suspects involved in the thefts. The suspects were affiliated with a street gang in Niles, Mich.
“At this time, it is believed this group is responsible for at least six motor vehicle thefts, multiple thefts of firearms from vehicles, as well as a large number of thefts of credit/debit cards leading to multiple fraudulent activities in northern Indiana and southern Michigan,” read a press release from the Warsaw Police Department following the arrests in this case.
Pratt’s co-defendants, Michael A. Hubbard, 22, Mishawaka; and Kashawn S. Hudson, 20, Warsaw; both have pretrial conferences on March 23 in Kosciusko Superior Court One.
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