Department of Justice

SOUTH BEND –Eric Blackmon, 25 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Blackmon was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in September 2022, Blackmon brokered the sale of a handgun to another individual in Michigan City.  Blackmon brought his own 9-millimeter firearm with an extended magazine to the deal.  His semi-automatic firearm was eventually recovered by law enforcement despite his attempts to conceal it.  Blackmon has prior felony convictions for strangulation and burglary, and either conviction prohibits his possession of the firearm. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the LaPorte County Drug Task Force and the Michigan City Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Katelan McKenzie Doyle.

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.