Convicted Felon Sentenced to 54 Months in Federal Prison for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm
INDIANAPOLIS – Broden Burgess, 37, of Indianapolis was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents, on September 21, 2020, officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call to check the welfare of a person at the Kroger grocery store located at 1365 East 86th Street in Indianapolis. Officers arrived and located Burgess, who appeared incoherent, in the parking lot. After further investigation, officers located a loaded black Ruger 9mm handgun in Burgess’s sweatshirt pocket.
Burgess is prohibited from lawfully possessing firearms or ammunition due to multiple prior felony convictions, including auto theft, burglary, and strangulation. Burgess also has a misdemeanor conviction for domestic battery, which resulted from him knocking an ex-girlfriend to the ground and choking her.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Columbus Field Division made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department provided invaluable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson following Burgess’s guilty plea. As part of the sentence, Judge Stinson ordered that Burgess be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence D. Hilton who prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. A partnership among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the IMPD, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms.
Additionally, this case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.
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