Indianapolis Man Sentenced For Gun Violation

INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Thomas Montgomery, 39, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 66 months (five ½ years) n½ in federal prison by U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence. Montgomery admitted to illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Montgomery’s conviction is the result of a joint prosecution effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Three years ago, this Office pledged to federally prosecute more illegally-armed felons than ever before,” said Hogsett. “Today’s sentence supports that pledge to take off our streets the most violent criminals who terrorize our neighborhoods.”

Court documents state that on August 9, 2013, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to 3033 Bavarian West Dr. on a person with a gun. The caller/witness advised dispatch that Thomas Montgomery was outside in the parking lot with a gun. The caller also stated that there was a disturbance between Montgomery and the maintenance worker, and that Montgomery had pointed a gun at the maintenance worker’s head and then fled the scene in a black Chevy Suburban.

Shortly thereafter, an IMPD officer observed the Suburban registered to Montgomery and initiated a traffic stop near 34th and Galeston. The driver, identified as Thomas Montgomery, got out of the driver’s seat holding a black handgun in his right hand. Montgomery fled on foot behind the residence. Officers summoned K-9 assistance, and eventually located Montgomery hiding in the back yard in the 8800 block of Frontenac Rd, where he was taken into custody.

Officers did not locate a firearm on Montgomery, near his apprehension location or in his vehicle; therefore they summoned a ballistic K-9 unit. The K9 unit located a black semiautomatic handgun with an extended magazine lying in a near-by back yard. Montgomery was found to have previously been convicted of numerous felonies, including Criminal Recklessness, Theft, Possession of a Handgun Without a License, Possession of Cocaine, and Dealing in Cocaine, all in Marion County, Indiana.

Announced in March of 2011, the Violent Crime Initiative represents a district-wide strategy to work with local law enforcement and county prosecutors to combat drug traffickers and criminals that use and carry firearms in their illegal activities. The VCI has produced a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related charges brought federally. In the year preceding the initiative, there were just 14 defendants charged with federal gun crimes by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In the nearly three years since, more than 325 defendants have been charged.

According to Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Thomas Lupke, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Montgomery faces three years of supervised release after his sentence. Lupke currently serves as a SAUSA for Hogsett’s office and splits his time as a deputy prosecutor with the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office where he specializes in narcotic- and gun-related cases.