Department of Justice

SOUTH BEND – Shea Pletcher, 42 years old, of Elkhart, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. on his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Pletcher was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release. 

According to documents in the case, in September of 2021, police in Elkhart responded to the scene of a possible break in. Once they arrived at the home, officers found Pletcher with a 20-gauge shotgun. Pletcher has an extensive criminal history, including at least 8 prior convictions, and any of his convictions for a felony offense prohibits him for possessing a firearm. 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Elkhart Police Department and the St. Joseph County Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank E. Schaffer.

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.