Crusader Staff Report
Gary Councilman Ronald Brewer has been charged with kidnapping and criminal confinement two months after he was accused of taking a young boy that he believed was involved in a theft of his car.
Prosecutors do not believe the boy was involved when Brewer’s car was stolen in Gary in September and taken to East Chicago
The charges came two days after Brewer was reelected to the Common Council, where he serves as president.
Lake County police released a five-page affidavit that gives a wild, detailed account of how the incident unfolded on September 22.
Initially, the Crusader reported that Brewer was arrested on allegations he fired a gun at two teenagers he suspected of stealing his car and taking one of them back to Gary.
An attorney for Ron Brewer says his actions were a legal citizen’s arrest.
At the time of the arrest, East Chicago Police Lt. Jose said Brewer apparently tracked his stolen vehicle to East Chicago with a phone app and fired shots during a confrontation with the teenagers inside it.
Rivera says Brewer wrongly took the law into his own hands without contacting police.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson released a statement following Brewer’s arrest:
