Chicago Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison

HAMMOND- Clarence Brown, 30, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James T. Moody after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Brown was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in June 2021, Brown possessed two firearms - a Taurus firearm and a Polymer 80/20 - after having been previously convicted of a felony (armed robbery). The latter firearm is commonly referred to as a “ghost gun” since it lacked a make, model, or serial number.  Both firearms, which were loaded, had travelled in interstate commerce: the Taurus firearm had traveled in interstate commerce because it was not manufactured in the State of Indiana and the ghost gun had traveled in interstate commerce because Brown it had brought into Indiana from Illinois.             

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Hammond Police Department, and the Whiting Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin F. Wolff.    

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.