Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Felon Sentenced to Over 6 Years in Federal Prison After Being Found Illegally in Possession of an AR-15 Rifle in a Downtown Indianapolis Parking Garage
INDIANAPOLIS – Antoine Hopkins, 33, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, on May 16, 2021, at approximately 2:12 am, an off-duty Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer working at a downtown Indianapolis parking garage was approached by a witness who had observed Hopkins with a rifle and heard threats made towards her. The officer heard a shot and was able to identify Hopkins as the individual with the rifle. The firearm was determined to be a Springfield AR-15 rifle loaded with two thirty-round magazines.
At the time he was in possession of the AR-15 in the parking garage, Hopkins was completing a term of imprisonment at a residential reentry center, or halfway house, following a March 2019 federal conviction for a prior instance of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hopkins also has prior felony convictions in Indiana for resisting law enforcement, possession of cocaine, and carrying a handgun without a license. Each of these prior felony convictions prohibits Hopkins from lawfully possessing a firearm.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division; and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Police Chief Randal Taylor made the announcement.
ATF investigated the case in conjunction with IMPD. Sentence was imposed by U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. 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.