Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

HAMMOND- Sergio Gamez, 30 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Gamez was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on August 7, 2019, as a result of a 911 call about a possible kidnapping, law enforcement responded to a local gas station.  At the gas station, Officers located Gamez who was in the vehicle in possession of a rifle.  Officers learned that Gamez had demanded the victim drive him around while he threatened her with the rifle.  According to his criminal history, Gamez has prior felony convictions for Armed Robbery, Robbery, and Arson which prohibit him from possessing any firearm or ammunition.       

This case was investigated by of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the assistance of the Hammond Police Department.   This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin M. Padula.     

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.

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