On the evening of December 4, 1977, 29-year-old Stephen Skirpan was shot and killed during a violent entry into his Lake County, Indiana, home. Two men, James Brewer and Kenneth Ray Brooks, approached claiming to be police, showed a badge, and said they had a search warrant. When Skirpan asked to see the warrant, Brewer announced a hold up and both men produced handguns. Skirpan was fatally shot while the intruders stole money and commemorative coins before fleeing.

Brewer was arrested later that night and found with commemorative coins matching those taken; he was linked to four other armed robberies that day by victim identifications. Brewer was convicted of murder and originally sentenced to death on March 1, 1978; that sentence was vacated on appeal and reduced to 54 years on October 30, 1991. Brooks pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 60 years on December 20, 1978.

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