Anderson Man Sentenced for Impersonating Homeland Security Officer and Possessing Incendiary Bombs

INDIANAPOLIS- Joshua W. Stearman, 42, of Anderson, Indiana, has been sentenced to 65 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In April of 2025, a federal jury found Stearman guilty of unlawfully possessing incendiary bomb sand falsely impersonating an officer or employee of the United States.

According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, on December 12, 2023, around 1:47 a.m., Ingalls Police responded to a suspicious person report near a home previously targeted by vandalism and arson. A witness saw Stearman approach the house carrying something before fleeing to a red Toyota RAV4 when security lights activated. Officers quickly located the vehicle and pulled it over. Stearman presented both his driver’s license and a fake government ID, claiming to be a Homeland Security Officer returning from a mission. He was wearing black gloves with duct tape wrapped around his wrists. Officers took him into custody and discovered four bottles filled with gasoline, each containing cloth wicks and wood pieces, along with a lighter in the car.

At trial, experts from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed the bottles were each incendiary bombs. A forensic chemist testified the liquid inside each bottle was gasoline, and a destructive device examiner explained their intended design was to start and spread fire upon impact. Possessing such devices is a federal crime under laws regulating destructive devices.

“This defendant not only endangered lives by bringing homemade firebombs into a residential neighborhood but also sought to evade detection by impersonating a Homeland Security officer,” said Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Thanks to the swift actions of local law enforcement and the expert analysis of our federal partners, this dangerous individual was stopped before he could carry out a potentially deadly attack.”

The ATF and Ingalls (Indiana) Police Department investigated this case, with valuable assistance provided by Lapel (Indiana) Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.

U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jayson W. McGrath and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nate Walter, who prosecuted this case.

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