Indiana
Suspect killed in Indiana grocery store shooting moved from Chicago area within the past year
The gunman who killed two people at a northern Indiana grocery store before he was shot and killed by police previously lived in Illinois, according to authorities.
Juan Sanchez, 54, opened fire inside a Martin’s Super Markets location on Monday evening in Elkhart, killing a 19-year-old cashier, Annasue Rocha, and a second person, 49-year-old Benjamin Jeffrey. Sanchez moved to the Elkhart area in April 2024 and previously lived in Plano, Illinois, Elkhart County Prosecutor Vicki Becker said.
Becker revealed new details about what occurred in the minutes prior to the deadly shooting at a news conference on Friday. Sanchez was apparently targeting young women and was clearly “looking for a victim,” WNDU, the NBC affiliate in South Bend, reported.
Sanchez loaded his cart with alcoholic beverages and went to the self-checkout area, where Rocha was working at the time. Because he was purchasing alcohol, Rocha went to check his ID, collected it and brought the ID back to her cash register. She then returned the ID, at which point Sanchez displayed a handgun and grabbed her wrist.
A customer who saw what was happening informed a manager who confronted Sanchez, according to the prosecutor. As the manager tried to deescalate the situation, Sanchez said “she needs to listen to me or I will kill her.”
Sanchez then raised the gun and opened fire, shooting Rocha, prosecutors said.
After Rocha was shot, the manager called out for everyone to run and ushered others to safety. Sanchez then fired in the direction of the exit and toward people running the back of the store. One of those individuals, Jeffrey, was shot, authorities said.
After shooting Jeffrey, Sanchez pushed his cart toward the exit and shot Rocha additional times, according to prosecutors. Sanchez was fatally shot by police after exiting the grocery store.
Other incidents of suspicious behavior involving Sanchez and young women have been reported to authorities since Monday, prosecutors said.
In each case, the person in question avoided further contact with Sanchez, Becker said.
One woman reported she obtained a protective order in Illinois against Sanchez – almost three years ago. Although a police report was filed, no further documentation has been found demonstrating additional formal action on that report, Becker stated.
No complaints had been made to law enforcement in Elkhart County since his move to the area in 2024, authorities said.
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Fewer Christmas cards are being sent these days — a 2024 poll found 6 in 10 adults received fewer, and 3 in 10 planned to skip sending them altogether. Gen Z may be moving away from the tradition, but many still keep cards as sentimental keepsakes.
LAFAYETTE, IN — Hopes for a white Christmas are fading quickly in Indiana.
“I know earlier in the month we were thinking we might have a higher chance of a white Christmas,” National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Moore said, “but unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. A lot of long-range guidance has been consistent showing a pattern on Christmas Day featuring much warmer than normal temperatures for the region and the chance for some rainfall.
“It does look like we’ll be above average, temperatures at least in the 40s, maybe 50s,” Moore said on Wednesday, just three days after subzero temperatures pummeled the area.
With still eight days until Christmas, the forecasts closer to Dec. 25 might bump the expected high temps up even into the 60s, Moore said.
Normal temperatures this time of year for Lafayette are 36 for a high and 22 for a low.
“It looks like you might be able to keep your heavy winter jackets in the closet for now,” Moore said.
How will a Christmas with temperatures in the 40s, 50s or even 60s compare to Christmases past?
In 1982, Lafayette’s record-warm Christmas was 64 degrees. Its record cold temperature was 12 below zero in 2000.
So now that the dreams of a white Christmas appear dashed, what about January or February?
The Climate Prediction Center published a three-month forecast in November, and an update is expected in the next couple of days.
But last month, center’s forecast for January, February and March was for Hoosiers to have an equal chance of above and/or below average temperatures.
“We’ll see how that translates with the storm track,” Moore said.
The Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than normal temperatures in the southern United States and below normal temperatures in the Northern Plains.
“That puts the storm track right through Indiana, which makes sense because the Climate Prediction Center has Indiana as a bullseye for a pattern favoring above-normal precipitation,” Moore said. Temperatures will decide whether that precipitation falls as rain or snow — or ice or freezing rain.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
Former UConn forward, NBC Sports broadcaster Donny Marshall knows a thing or two about talented UConn guards.
The former Husky played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun and was teammates with the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. Watching UConn play against Butler on Tuesday night, Marshall said he sees a lot of Allen in reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins.
Mullins made the second start of his career against the Bulldogs. The former Greenfield-Central star missed UConn’s first six games of the regular season with an injury, but the 6-foot-6 guard is quickly coming into his own and showing why he’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Against Butler, Mullins showed off his sweet jump shot, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
“He’s a scorer,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Mullins. “He’s got a scorer’s mentality. He gets his shot off quick. They move him around and create some angles for him. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player.”
Mullins did most of his damage in the first half, scoring eight of his 12 points before halftime. The former five-star recruit was the highest-ranked player in UConn’s 2025 class. Butler’s top-ranked recruit, Azavier “Stink” Robinson isn’t the NBA prospect Mullins is, but he held his own after a shaky start to the game.
Robinson has been thrust into the starting lineup with starter Jalen Jackson out for the season with an ankle injury. Robinson looked out of sorts at times in the first half, going scoreless with two assists and a turnover. In the second half, Matta moved him off the ball, giving him catch-and-shoot looks, and opportunities to drive to the basket without worrying about running the offense.
The former Lawrence North star responded with one of the better halves of his career, scoring 10 points on 3 for 6 shooting, including 2 for 5 from 3 to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.
Facing a veteran team like UConn, nothing comes easy. UConn’s guards harass ball handlers and getting into an offensive set is not easy. This time last year, Robinson was still in high school and, on most nights, the most athletic player on the court. Playing a UConn team where the goal is a national championship, Robinson was forced to grow, and he did not back down from the challenge in the second half.
“He’s coming along,” Matta said of Robinson. “That’s the first Big East road game of his career against maybe the best team in the country. It tells you how tough he is. He’s resilient. He keeps going.”
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