Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Indianapolis – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today that Andre Jermaine Maxey, 18, Indianapolis, pleaded guilty to six counts of interference with commerce by threats of violence and one count of possession of a firearm during a violent crime. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker to 157 months (over 13 years) of imprisonment and was ordered to pay over $23,000 in restitution. He was a juvenile when the offenses were committed.

 

“Gun violence has no place in a civil society,” said Minkler. “Maxey and his accomplices willingly used extreme violence while robbing gun stores and crowded restaurants. He now understands the full force of federal law enforcement. To the extent that juveniles believe they are immune from federal prosecution, they should now know that belief is mistaken.”

 

On November 4, 2015, Maxey and two others committed an armed robbery of KS&E guns in Lawrence, Indiana, making off with forty-four firearms and ammunition valued at over $16,000. One store employee was pistol whipped and injured. Special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the robbery and gathered evidence that Maxey and others committed a rash of additional robberies in the days leading up to the gun store robbery. Those included armed robberies of a Little Caesar’s restaurant on September 22, a Dinner Bell restaurant on October 3 and again on October 26, the Hilltop Tavern restaurant on October 13, and Binkley’s Kitchen and Bar in Broad Ripple on October 21, 2015.

 

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Lawrence Police Department.

 

“The negative impact this suspect had on the lives and families of Indianapolis and Lawrence, Indiana is un-measureable,” said IMPD Chief Bryan Roach. “I am thankful for the good work and dedication of all IMPD detectives working in collaboration with our Federal partners. Federal, state and local law enforcement officers will continue to pursue these types of crimes and criminals to make Indianapolis and the metropolitan area a safer place.”

 

“No individual should be allowed to threaten our community with the use of violence, particularly harming others to steal firearms and in turn commit more violence,” stated Trevor Velinor, Special Agent in Charge for ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “I am proud of the work that our agents have done, side by side with their partners at IMPD and the Lawrence Police Department, to ensure that this individual does not have an opportunity to cause further fear or injury.”

 

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey D. Preston, who prosecuted this case for the government, the remaining two defendants, whose cases remain pending, could face up to life imprisonment.