(La Porte County, IN) - Candidates are emerging for open seats in the La Porte County government next year.

For example, La Porte County Deputy Prosecutor Julianne Havens has announced she’s running for judge of La Porte Circuit Court, given that current judge Tom Alevizos will not be seeking a fourth term.

Havens, who made her announcement Thursday during a gathering at the Portofino Grill outside La Porte, is a longtime deputy prosecutor in La Porte County. She was previously the lead prosecutor in a La Porte murder case that ended with the wife of the victim receiving an over 60-year prison sentence two months ago.

In the case, Thessalonica Allen, 36, also cut the legs off the body of the victim, Randy Allen, after she shot him in the arm. Randy bled to death after the bullet lodged next to his spinal column, reportedly. 

She claimed self-defense but the jury, apparently unfazed by her arguments, quickly reached a guilty verdict.