Despite being arrested on drug and murder charges, an East Chicago city councilman was re-elected to his office in Tuesday’s elections.
East Chicago 3rd District Councilman Robert “Coop” Battle cruised to re-election even though he is accused in the Oct. 12 shooting of Reimundo Camarillo Jr. That isn’t all. As The Munster Times reports, the councilman is also facing drug charges stemming from a traffic stop earlier in the year.
Police say that Councilman Battle was found with 73 pounds of marijuana and more than $100,000 cash during a traffic stop in Porter County, Indiana.
Even with all this legal trouble on his plate, no one filed to run against him, and he won re-election on Tuesday with his unopposed candidacy.
Still, some have been calling for him to resign his office due to his mounting troubles.
But the councilman’s attorney insisted that his client is “insulted” by the claims that he should resign.
“He is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty,” Attorney John Cantrell said. “If he is acquitted, he’ll keep his job.”
Apparently, Battle didn’t even vote in his own election. As Lake County Sheriff John Buncich reported, Battle did not request an absentee ballot to vote from the jail.
The Associated Press reports, “Battle is seeking bail and a Nov. 17 hearing is planned. On Tuesday a Lake County judge granted prosecutors’ request for a DNA mouth swab from Battle.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.