Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FORT WAYNE – Shawn Bacon, 39, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was convicted after a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Holly Brady of two counts of possessing with intent to distribute controlled substances to include more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and more than 400 grams of fentanyl found in his house and more than 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine found in his car, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, maintaining a drug involved premises, possessing a destructive device and a short barreled rifle not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, possessing body armor after having been convicted of a crime of violence, and possessing in furtherance of and carrying during and in relation to the drug trafficking offenses, firearms to include destructive devices, more particularly explosive bombs and a short barreled rifle, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

According to the documents in this case, Bacon, was initially charge by way of a federal complaint, in December 2017 with multiple federal drug and firearm charges which resulted from a search warrant conducted on his residence and his vehicle. The execution of the search warrant resulted in the seizure of 22 firearms, some stolen, found in his car and residence, despite the fact that he had been convicted of at least 4 prior felony convictions. Bacon had many high capacity magazines, body armor, and various rounds of ammunition in this residence. There were destructive devices, more particularly pipe bombs, and a short barreled rifle in his possession that were not registered through the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Bacon also had larger quantities of narcotics (methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana) in his possession which were amounts consistent with distribution and not personal consumption. During the arrest process on the complaint, investigators photographed Bacon’s Aryan Brotherhood tattoos. As required under federal criminal procedures, Bacon was charged by way of an 8 count Superseding Indictment on July 10, 2019, on the gun, drug, and body armor charges on which he proceeded to trial.

This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives Fort Wayne Resident Office Agents, ATF Explosives Technology Branch, ATF Forensic Chemistry Laboratory, with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department, Fort Wayne Police Department Vice and Narcotics Division, and the Indiana State Police. The case was prosecuted by Northern District of Indiana Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesly Miller-Lowery.

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