South Bend Man Sentenced to 82 Months in Prison

SOUTH BEND – On Friday, November 14, Armon Shannon, 25 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after being found guilty by a jury of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm following a two-day jury trial in July, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.

Shannon was sentenced to 82 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, Shannon ran away from police in the parking lot of a gas station in South Bend. After police caught up to him, they found a loaded handgun on the ground along the path that Shannon had run from them. Shannon has multiple prior felony convictions, including two federal convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, any one of which prohibit him from possessing the firearm in this case.

“Shannon had already been convicted in federal court twice for illegally possessing a firearm,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor.  “Evidently, neither conviction convinced him that he should give up on carrying guns.  Thanks to the strong effort of our partner agencies and the excellent work of our trial attorneys, he will have 82 months to learn the lesson that he failed to take on the first two times he went to federal prison.  Our office always tirelessly pursues such repeat offenders.”

“ATF is proud to work with the South Bend Police Department to take convicted felons who unlawfully possess firearms off our streets. The sentence handed down in this case reflects the seriousness of the conduct and reinforces that repeat violations of the law will be met with significant prison time” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the South Bend Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Acting Criminal Division Chief Joseph P. Falvey.

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.