Department of Justice

SOUTH BEND – Martin Devalois, 40 years old, of Romeoville, Illinois, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after being found guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm following a 2-day jury trial in December of 2023, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Devalois was sentenced to 92 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in March 2021, Devalois led police on a 30-minute car chase throughout LaPorte County, at one time reaching 90 miles per hour while driving through the city of LaPorte. The chase ended when Devalois crashed into a snowbank, and police recovered a loaded handgun from the center console. Devalois has multiple prior felony convictions, any one of which prohibit him from possessing the firearm in this case.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jerome W. McKeever and Joel L. Mathur.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.