PORTER CO. – On Saturday, October 18th, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Trooper Carlson and Trooper Brasseur were parked near the ramp of State Road 49 and U.S. 20 in the Town of Porter, when a vehicle was approaching their location. As the car approached their location, Trp. Carlson heard three gunshots and saw what he believed to be a muzzle flash from the passenger side of the approaching vehicle. It should be noted that the area of this incident is also residential. As the car passed the troopers, they activated their emergency lights and conducted a felony stop on the vehicle, a blue 2018 Honda, and detained both the driver and passenger.
The passenger, identified as Gary A. Ottomanelli, 40, from Porter, IN, admitted to firing the handgun “just to shoot it”, but didn’t intend to harm anyone. The gun, an FNX-9 semi-automatic 9 mm pistol, was located in the vehicle, and it was still loaded with ammunition. Shortly after troopers made the traffic stop, a Porter police officer arrived at the location and told the troopers that their department had received a 911 call from a resident in the neighborhood to report shots being fired nearby. The timeframe of the 911 call lined up with the shots being fired that were witnessed by the troopers.
The driver of the vehicle was released from the scene. Mr. Ottomanelli was then transported to the Porter County Jail, where he was booked and preliminarily charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon – a Level 5 felony and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon- a Level 6 felony.
The Porter County Prosecutor will determine final charges.
Those facing criminal charges are considered innocent until proven guilty through due legal proceedings. Accusations alone do not imply guilt; the judicial system will evaluate the presented evidence to reach a verdict.
