Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FORT WAYNE--Michael Teems, age 60, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced June 16, 2022, by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty on his plea of guilty to possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Teems was sentenced to a total of 228 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in this case, in January of 2020, Teems was stopped by law enforcement and arrested based on an outstanding Ohio warrant. From his residence, various drugs were seized to include methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl pills, along with ammunition and magazines, a scale, and body armor. Teems admitted he had obtained large quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs periodically since November of 2019, and also admitted to carrying his firearm for protection of his drug trafficking activities. Based on his criminal history, he was determined to be a Career Offender and received a sentence based on this Sentencing Guideline enhancement.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony W. Geller.

This case was being 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.