Michigan Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

HAMMOND- Taequan Richardson, 23 years old, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon on his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Richardson was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on July 10, 2021, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on the Indiana Toll Road on a vehicle.  During the search of the car, law enforcement recovered a firearm underneath the front passenger’s seat at Richardson’s feet. Richardson’s criminal history revealed he has a prior Michigan conviction for manufacturing/delivering controlled substances, and as such, was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Hobart Police Department.   This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin M. Padula.      

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.