Detective Cpl. Steven Andrus results linked Andrus' duty weapon to some of the casings, police said

Detective Cpl. Steven Andrus, a six-year veteran of the Gary Police Department, will remain on paid suspension for the duration of the investigation, said Cmdr. Samuel Roberts.Andrus and at least three other Gary officers, as well as a fourth who recently got another job, are suspects in the March 18 drive-by at a house in Portage.Portage police allege that the shooting occurred hours after Andrus, Gary Patrolman Daryl Gordon and others got into a fight outside in a bar in nearby Hobart, where Andrus lives, after they had been drinking on St. Patrick's Day.Gordon suffered two black eyes and may have been hospitalized when an extended cab pickup truck drove past a Portage man's house and someone fired several shots in his direction. The Portage man and his two brothers had faced off against Gordon outside the bar after having a verbal confrontation inside.Portage investigators recovered numerous spent shells, which were compared to weapons owned by the Gary officers. The results linked Andrus' duty weapon to some of the casings, police said.
There was no telephone listing for Andrus in the Hobart area.Besides criminal charges, Andrus and any other participants may face punishment through the Gary Police Civil Service Commission.The allegations are the latest trouble for the department following the retirement of former Chief Thomas Houston. He and two aides had been accused of beating, harming and illegally holding people they suspected of breaking into Houston's house.Houston and his two former aides pleaded not guilty to the charges after they were indicted. Houston retired March 11 after 42 years with the department.

Posted in: Gary Police Department