Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

INDIANAPOLIS- Michael Ryan Mack, 41, of Indianapolis was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a firearm.

According to court documents, on November 13, 2020, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers were dispatched to an Indianapolis residence on reports of a person shot. When officers arrived, they learned that Michael Mack’s wife had been shot in the right arm during an altercation with Mack.

During a search of the residence, officers located a 9mm handgun with a spent shell casing still inside the barrel, and 11 live rounds in the magazine. Mack was located later that day at a hotel in Greenwood, Indiana, where officers found another 9mm handgun in the room.

Mack is prohibited from possessing a firearm and is considered an armed career criminal under federal law due to his previous felony convictions including Armed Robbery, Dealing in a Controlled Substance, and three convictions for Burglary.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Randal Taylor, and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division made the announcement.

“We have prioritized federal prosecution of armed domestic abusers because of the extreme danger they pose to those in their homes and the public at large,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “The victim in this case will be protected from her abuser for many years, because of the excellent work of IMPD, the ATF, and our federal prosecutor. This sentence should serve as a warning anyone who is involved in domestic violence and illegally armed: get rid of the guns or risk a long term in federal prison.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case, with valuable assistance provided by IMPD. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker. Judge Barker also ordered that Mack be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Pamela S. Domash, who prosecuted this case.

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.

This case was brought as part of the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. A partnership among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the IMPD, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms.